The Fool Hero
by Danny vs A Month
Summary: You don't have to be the strongest or the bravest to be a hero. And the most important character isn't always the hero either. Sometimes, the person that matters most is the person who also fails the most. And sometimes it's the hero who fails. Sometimes, there's not only one hero. This is the story of a failure's life through the events of Mass Effect 2 and 3.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

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Escape

David's eyes flitted to Tarak before quickly darting away, the Batarian leader of Omega's Blue Suns mercs glaring at his computer screen. David's eyes flicked to one of Tarak's commanders, Jentha. She was in the middle of talking to a group of three Freelancers who'd been hired to help the Blue Suns, as well as the two other merc groups, the Blood Pack and Eclipse, take down a vigilante known as Archangel, who'd been harassing all three enemy groups effectively enough to get them to work together to kill him. David eyed the three carefully, shrinking further into his corner as he did. One wore black armor with a red stripe framed by two thinner white ones down the right arm, and had an Avenger assault rifle, a grenade launcher, and a Predator heavy pistol. He had small scars over his face, a shaved head like he was in the military, and wore a cold expression that seemed to radiate authority and danger. Another was an older man with nasty scars marring his face, a cybernetic right eye, mostly yellow armor with a white strip up the front and a heavy pauldron on the right side. He looked mean, experienced, and had an Avenger assault rifle and a Mantis sniper rifle on his back. The third was a woman with a skin-tight, white body suit with black sleeves and knee-high boots, long black hair, an hourglass figure, and a confident expression that bordered on arrogance. However, from her posture, she knew how to use the submachine gun and pistol on either side of her waist. All-in-all, the three of them struck David as anything _but_ freelancers, and set off every warning bell in David's head.

Jentha glanced at David and saw the worry and fear on his expression, her brow furrowing slightly in a mixture of worry and sympathy, but she returned her focus to the conversation. After a couple more minutes, the three excused themselves and left and Jentha walked over, cupping David's face and giving him a concerned look.

"What's wrong?" Jentha asked.

"I have a bad feeling," David said quietly.

"You _always_ have a bad feeling!" Tarak snapped. "You're a goddamn pussy! You're even weaker than you look, and you weigh eighty pounds soaking wet, _in_ armor."

He wasn't wrong. We was exaggerating, but he wasn't wrong. David was scrawny, to put it nicely, and wasn't physically strong in any way. Wearing his standard issue Blue Suns armor practically killed him if he had to run for an extended period of time greater than twenty seconds.

"Please, Jentha," David pleaded, too quietly for Tarak to hear. "If we go after Archangel, we'll die. Please! Let's just leave! Start over somewhere else, where Archangel won't come after us."

Jentha sighed, kissing him for a few seconds before smiling. "Okay." She hugged him, placing her lips beside his ear. "When the Blue Suns deploy, we'll slip out the back."

David nodded, squeezing her and tucking his face into her shoulder. "I love you."

"I love you too," Jentha smiled. "It'll be okay. I promise. Just stick with me."

David nodded and Tarak snorted derisively.

"He'll probably be more of a hinderance than a help in a firefight," Tarak said. "He's good at hacking doors and shit, but he's too much of a coward to be good in a fight."

"He's better than you think," Jentha said.

Tarak snorted again, then finally received a message saying the infiltration team was ready. He signaled for the assault to begin and the freelancers started across the bridge. Within moments it became obvious there was a problem. The three supposed freelancers that had been talking to Jentha, and through the conversation finding out all about the plan to take Archangel down, turned on the other freelancers, slaughtering them in moments before going to meet up with Archangel for a peaceful conversation.

"How'd you know?" Jentha asked.

David shook his head. "I just had a bad feeling about them. They seemed too serious and experienced for freelancers."

Jentha nodded as Eclipse began to send in their mechs, one of which the soldier in black armor shot in the head, causing it to explode and hurl several off the bridge. More Eclipse mechs went over the barricade, including the heavy mech, but when Eclipse mercs began to go with the mechs, the heavy mech turned on them. David shouted in surprise and fear, turning invisible instantly and shrinking back from the doorway as the mercs struggled to destroy their own mech while avoiding bullets from Archangel and his three allies. Just as he reappeared, Jentha grabbed his arm, quickly pulling him out of the room.

"We'll be right back, Tarak," Jentha said. "I'll have him help Cathka."

"Good," Tarak said. "Make him useful."

As soon as the door was closed, however, Jentha cut left and the two of them sprinted to where there were sky cars parked. They both jumped into one and David started it instantly, taking off. As he was flying away, he glanced out the side and saw Tarak glaring up at them. He pointed and suddenly bullets began to slam into their car. David swore, swerving to the side, only for the car's engine to explode and the car to begin to plummet.

"Shit!" Jentha swore. "Hang on!"

David simply screamed, flickering in and out of sight. Then, with a thundering crash, the car plowed into the ground, skidding to a stop at the edge of a walkway. David groaned, sitting back and holding a hand to a gash in his forehead, which was bleeding heavily.

"Fuck!" Jentha groaned. "David, you alive?"

"Yeah," David groaned.

"We need to go," Jentha said.

"Yeah," David agreed, climbing out of the sky car with her.

Just as soon as she was out, however, the sky car emitted a metallic screech as it tilted over the edge and skidded off the walkway, falling to the next level down and exploding.

"There they are!" a distorted male voice shouted, just as Blue Suns rounded the corner.

Jentha swore as David vanished. She sprinted away and after a few meters, David reappears beside her just as his omni-tool fired a torso-sized ball of freshly-fabricated explosive gas inside a fragile containment field. It struck one of the human, or maybe Batarian, mercs and exploded, that merc and two more all being lit on fire. The rest all dove for cover and cave David and Jentha just enough time to sprint into Afterlife, ignoring the Elcor at the door. Several Batarians were about to stop them, only for the Blue Suns to shoulder past them, gaining the Batarians' attention instantly. A shootout erupted instantly and David and Jentha ran into Afterlife, heading to a back room and grabbing a pair of humans, David quickly knocking both out with a weak neural shock. A few minutes later, Jentha was wearing a red dress with the front open to reveal the black bra with it, and David was wearing a black suit jacket and pants. They left the two people they had knocked out in their armor, probably a death sentence, but it wouldn't keep the Blue Suns off their trail for long.

"We need to find someplace to hide," Jentha said as they quickly wound their way through Afterlife.

David nodded but just as they turned to leave, the door opened and Blue Suns began to walk in, armed. The one in the lead was a particularly nasty Turian who had never liked David. David swore and grabbed Jentha, backing into a dancing crowd and pulling her back against him, facing away from the mercs. Jentha took the hint instantly and began to dance against David, who did his best not to look as afraid as he was, and to keep from instinctively turning invisible again. His tech was so fine-tuned that it had become instinctive as much as conscious. As soon as the Blue Suns had passed, David and Jentha cut for the back door. However, just as they did, someone, a Turian, stepped out from a crowd, raising a gun and aiming up at Aria T'Loak, the Asari in charge of Omega. Just before he could squeeze off a shot, David, who hadn't been able to react in time, accidentally bumped into him, making the shot whiz past Aria's head, instead smashing the wine glass she'd been about to take a drink from. Aria spun, glowing with biotics in her rage, to see the would-be assassin shove David away and aim at her again, only for David to shriek in fear and grab the Turian and yank him sideways into the path of several Blue Suns' shots, allowing the assassin to die as Jentha fled. Then, David turned invisible and dropped the corpse, fleeing after Jentha. They slipped out through the back in the chaos following their shooting, which Aria's security did _not_ appreciate.

David and Jentha sprinted down the stairs to the lower level of Afterlife, then out the back and sprinted toward the docking bay, planning to steal a ship. However, just as they were crossing a bridge to it, a grenade exploded in front of them, hurling them backward. David rolled over the edge and shrieked in fear, only for Jentha to catch his arm, barely able to hold him up.

"Surround them!" the Turian from before shouted. "Don't let them get away!"

Jentha slid slightly toward the edge and David's eyes widened in fear. "I won't drop you!"

"You're both going to die anyway," the Turian taunted. "You'd be better off just letting the coward fall. At least that wouldn't really hurt. We're not going to make it painless."

David looked down and his eyes widened. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," Jentha nodded.

David nodded and swung his legs, yanking her off the bridge into freefall. A moment later, a sky car crashed into both of them, hurling them to the next level down, a cargo-loading level for ships docked the next floor up. Both hit hard and rolled to a stop, probably with several broken bones, but they forced themselves up and fled into the cargo containers. After a couple of minutes, Jentha's right leg buckled and she cried out in pain. He stopped, kneeling beside her.

"I can't," Jentha said, face screwed up in pain. "I can't run anymore. Leave me."

David shook his head. "No way. I'm not leaving you."

He looked around before seeing a container listed as containing medi-gel. He quickly lifted her into the container before climbing in after her. Once inside, he injected an anesthetic into her thigh, then settled in beside her, wrapping his arms around her protectively. They heard voices approaching, but just as the voices reached the container, the container suddenly lurched and began to move. David closed his eyes. He hadn't meant to get them snuck onto a ship. He just wanted to get away from the Blue Suns. Then maybe he'd beg Aria to have Jentha protected. Maybe in exchange for her employing his services as necessary. But, if they ended up on a ship, then he supposed that would work too.

"Where are we going?" Jentha asked.

"I don't know," David said. "But wherever it is, it'll be safe than Omega for us."

Jentha nodded and David quickly filled his pockets with medi-gel and anesthetics. However, he began to feel light headed after a few minutes. He looked down at Jentha, and found her sleeping. He yawned. He was pretty tired too. Maybe sleeping wouldn't be too bad. He rested his head against Jentha's and let his eyes slide closed, drifting off almost instantly.

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	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

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Stowaway

David winced, slowly opening his eyes as he felt himself jerk. He looked around and took in his surroundings slowly. He and Jentha were still lying in the crate of medi-gel, but he could hear voices, and the crate wasn't moving anymore. He gently shook Jentha awake, then covered her mouth and motioned for her to follow quietly. She nodded and he carefully climbed out, helping her out afterward before carefully looking around the crate. There were several people in uniforms with a black vertically-stretched hexagon symbol with two yellow arms reached from just outside the bottom point up along the sides to the top of the two stretched sides. The crew members of whatever ship they'd ended up on were scanning the crates. David and Jentha remained out of sight while they scanned all the crates, and when theirs was scanned, the man hummed thoughtfully.

"What's up?" another asked.

"We got shorted on medi-gel," the man said.

"A lot?" the voice asked.

"Not enough to fuss over," the man said. "And it _is_ from Omega."

"Mark it down and we'll pass it along," the second voice said.

The first grunted in agreement and wrote something on the crate's paperwork before they all left the cargo bay in the elevator. David waited a few moments before taking Jentha's arm over his shoulder and quickly heading to the back of the cargo bay, where an access ladder connected with Engineering. He carefully helped Jentha up through the hatch and closed it after them. When he looked around, he found they were in a dark area underneath the stairs of the Engineering deck.

"Stay here, okay?" David whispered. "I'm going to see whose ship we're on."

Jentha nodded and David gave her a quick kiss before turning himself invisible and heading for the stairs. However, just as the was halfway up, a door opened and a man in a black and white uniform similar to that of the crew that checked the crates wore. Except, David recognized this one's face. It was the freelancer in the black armor that had helped Archangel. David's eyes widened and he froze. There was no way. Of all the people to work on that ship, why him? The man walked through the net door, not noticing David, and a younger voice reached David's ears.

"Oh, Commander, those T-six FBA Couplings went in perfectly," the male voice said, just before the door closed.

David quickly returned to Jentha, turning visible again and sitting beside her on a bench, staring at the ground with wide eyes.

"How bad is it?" Jentha asked.

"You remember that freelancer with the black armor that helped Archangel?" David asked, receiving a nod. "He's a commander, and this is his ship."

Jentha's eyes widened and she swallowed hard, nodding. "What do we do?"

"We have to wait for them to go somewhere we can escape," David said. "I'll...figure something out until then."

Jentha nodded and leaned on his shoulder. "Can I get some more anesthetics?"

David nodded, injecting some more into her leg. She sighed in relief, and he wrapped his arms around her, trying desperately to think of a way out of their new mess.

* * *

David pressed himself into the corner of the elevator as three other people stepped inside, heading up to the crew deck. The door opened and they all stepped off. David slipped out just before the door closed and carefully made his way to the galley, finding the cook, Rupert, apparently, easily, and snuck past him to the food stores. He waited until Rupert turned to talk shit with some of the other guys who were giving him a hard time about his cooking, and snatched some military rations. Not much, but enough for himself and Jentha to last another couple days, if they rationed it carefully.

He quietly headed back to the elevator and stood out of the way to wait for someone to use it. As he waited there, two other crew members walked over and pressed the up button, David hesitating before joining them.

"So, how long are we going to sit at Omega's docks?" one of them asked.

"I don't know," the other shrugged. "The commander's Turian friend got hurt pretty bad during the fight, so they're waiting for him to get patched up. Then after that, they need to recruit that Salarian doctor. Then I think we're good to leave."

The elevator dinged as it reached the CIC and David glanced around for a moment, frowning as he saw that the setup was similar to a Turian ship, but it was crewed by humans. Then, the doors closed and he pressed the button for the Engineering Deck. After a moment, it dinged open and a guy frowned, looking into it as David carefully slipped out past it, leaving him to be confused about who had been in the elevator.

* * *

David held his breath, Jentha doing the same, as several voices passed overhead, talking about inventories not matching up with food and medi-gel. David glanced at Jentha, who smiled weakly. She needed to be seen by an actual medical professional, such as the ship's doctor, Chakwas, David had found out her name was. But for obvious reasons, that wasn't an option. But they had finally left Omega. Hopefully they'd reach somewhere habitable soon. Somewhere they could either go into hiding or steal a ship of their own.

"I'm going to go and get some more medi-gel," David whispered.

"No, they'll be checking it," Jentha argued quietly.

"You need it," David whispered. "Besides, they won't be checking the actual dispensers."

Jentha's eyes widened, but before she could argue, he vanished, heading up to the elevator. It was getting risky using the elevator, since hardly anyone ever went down to Engineering, but he didn't have another choice. So, he quietly took the elevator up himself, then left it, heading for the medical bay.

"So, where are we going this time?" Rupert was asking Archangel, Garrus, David was pretty sure was his real name.

"Korlus," Garrus said. "A junkyard planet for decommissioned starships."

Rupert shook his head just as Dr. Chakwas walked out of the medical bay. David quickly darted to the medi-gel dispenser and got three applications, not much, but enough to last for a few days, then darted out when Chakwas opened the door again, apparently already finished checking on Garrus's injuries. However, in his haste to leave, he didn't see her double-check the medi-gel dispensers' levels.

David quickly took the elevator back down, once again confusing a crew member, and headed back down to Jentha, giving her one of the doses.

"That was a stupid risk," Jentha said.

"I know," David said. "But you need the medicine. I won't let you die."

Jentha sighed, giving him a sympathetic look before pulling him into a kiss. "Don't get yourself killed either, alright? I don't want to lose you. I want you to realize I just gave up my whole life for you. That should tell you how much I love you."

David smiled. "I know. I'll be careful. I promise."

Jentha smiled and nodded, leaning against David as he sat beside her.

* * *

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	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

Discovered

David silently grabbed a couple meals worth of rations and slipped out of Rupert's way, only to pause as he heard Chakwas yelling.

"What the hell do you mean you can't get the counts right?" Chakwas demanded of whichever poor crewman was facing her surprisingly terrifying fury. "Those antibiotics are important! They could cure an infection caused by a dirty bomb, let alone just the broken bones and gunshots we'll be using it for! How can you not have counted the same number a single time? At this point, I don't even know how many are supposed to be on this ship to begin with!"

"Sorry, Doctor," the crewman said. "I'll go back to the cargo bay and count them again."

Chakwas sighed heavily. "No, eat dinner first. Maybe _that_ will teach you how to count."

David quickly slipped away from the medical bay and to the elevator, slipping in with engineer Kenneth Donnelly, as he was heading back to work from dinner. Once the elevator stopped, David slipped back down to Jentha. She'd gotten worse again in the last few days. She clearly had an infection from her breaks no healing properly, but he didn't know how to fix it. But if what Chakwas said was true, he could save her.

"You're back," Jentha smiled weakly.

"Yeah," David smiled. "Listen, I need to go to the cargo bay for a few minutes. There's some medicine there that can help you."

Jentha frowned and shook her head. "No. Don't go."

"I have to," David said, kissing her forehead. "I'll be right back."

She tried to catch him by his hand, but he slipped away, turning invisible and disappearing. After a moment, he reached the same access hatch they'd climbed up through and carefully pulled it open before climbing down slightly and closing it silently. However, as soon as he did, he heard it buzz and hiss as it locked.

"He is here," a synthetic female voice said.

David's eyes widened and he twisted around, his eyes widening still further as he stared at the group waiting for him. The commander of the ship, Archangel, a black soldier named Jacob who somehow had the strength to do over a two thousand crunches, the woman with the white bodysuit named Miranda, the mercenary-looking man with the scarred face and the yellow armor who was named Zaeed, the Salarian doctor from the plague-stricken area of Omega named Mordin Solus, and a Krogan in white armor with grey scale plating the top of his head. It was a trap. There wasn't any medicine. He should have stayed with Jentha.

"Come out," the commander ordered.

David silently began to walk sideways from the ladder, eyeing the guns in their hands.

"He's probably moved," Miranda said, turning, scanning around the room for him. "You snuck onto the wrong ship, whoever you are."

"You were good, at first," the commander said. "You were careful. But you messed up by using the medi-gel dispensers. Doctor Chakwas is too careful for you to get away with that. Since you're the one stealing the medicine, however, you're clearly not the one who's hurt."

"Yet," Grunt grinned.

David swallowed hard. He couldn't escape. He'd have to fight.

"This is your last warning," the commander said. "Show yourself. If you don't, we'll force you."

"What promise do I have that you won't shoot me as soon as I do?" David asked, once he'd successfully remote-hacked into the room's speakers, however, he was locked out immediately after speaking.

"He hacked the ship," Miranda said. "He's good. He had to get passed EDI."

"Patience out," the Salarian said, raising his omni-tool, an EMP shooting outward from it and short-circuiting David's cloaking tech and omni-tool. "Located."

David let out a startled "eep!" as his eyes went wide as saucers.

"There you are," the commander said, aiming at him instantly, as did the others. "Now, how the hell did you get on my ship? You've obviously got skill. No way you could get in without being a master infiltrator."

"Would you believe me if I said it was an accident and bad luck?" David asked.

"No," the commander said.

"Well...it was," David said. "I tried to run away from the Blue Suns while you were distracting them with Archangel, and they attacked me and chased me. I hid in a medi-gel container and it happened to be loaded onto your ship. Then I hid while they scanned the crate, and found a hiding place once they were gone."

"Just you?" the commander asked.

"Yes," David nodded.

"What's the medi-gel for?" Archangel asked.

"I...got shot in Afterlife," David said. "It got infected."

"Right," the commander snorted.

"Don't try to trick us," Miranda said. "We know there's a girl. We know you've been getting food for both of you, and medicine for her. But as much as you've used, it's obviously not working. She's still dying, isn't she?"

David swallowed hard.

"We'll stop by the citadel," the commander said. "We'll turn him over to C-Sec, and drop her off at the hospital."

"She'll be arrested too," David said.

"Not my problem," the commander said. "Get him!"

David turned in visible instantly and darted to his right, just in time for Mordin to short out his tech again. David spun just as Archangel leapt at him. He cried out in surprise and fear as the airborne Turian tackled him, however, within seconds he had wriggled his way free. Jacob grabbed him, but he leapt into the air, flipping backward as he turned invisible yet again, breaking free of Jacob, barely, just in time to leap backward from the Krogan's charge, which plowed into Jacob instead. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he spun, using his omni-tool to blast Mordin with a blast of electricity, shorting out the Salarian's own omni-tool. Instead of another EMP, Mordin grabbed his arm and spun, hurling him backward. David landed in a backward roll, becoming visible again as the commander charged at him from one side and Miranda hurled a ball of focused biotic power at him from the other. He shouted in fear, dropping into a low squat with his arms wrapped over his head, and the biotic blast hit the commander, sending him skidding backward, his own biotics mostly blocking it. Then, as he stepped forward and swung an uppercut at David, David dove forward and became invisible yet again.

He spun around Jacob and darted for the elevator, only for the commander to place a singularity in front of it. He dove to the side, barely escaping the singularity's pull, and stood just in time for the Krogan to crash into his gut, slamming him into the wall and lifting him.

"Direct contact a bad idea!" Mordin warned. "Advise-"

David blasted the Krogan with a larger electricity blast, forcing him back enough for David to drop to the ground and ram his shoulder into the Krogan's side, sending him staggering into the Singularity. Then, he dove he other way as Zaeed fired several shots at him.

"No shooting in this ship!" the commander snapped.

"They're just concussive rounds," Zaeed assured him.

David, once again invisible, sprinted around behind one of the crates in the room and hid, trying to slow his panicked breathing.

"You can't keep this up forever," the commander pointed out. "You're just delaying the inevitable."

"Who the hell are you!?" David asked.

"My name is Commander John Shepard," the commander said. "Alliance Military, First Human Spectre, and Savior of the Citadel."

David let his head fall back against the crate. There was literally nowhere worse for him to be caught as a stowaway.

"Got you!" Zaeed said, appearing to David's left from around the crate, only for David to slam his invisible hand into the bottom of the rifle, smacking the top of the rifle into Zaeed's face before spinning and pulling the rifle, using Zaeed's iron grip on it to throw him aside, into the Krogan's path. He sprinted out of cover, still invisible, and headed for the newly unblocked elevator, only to skid to a stop as the door dinged open and a woman walked through with a black body suit with grey on the front of the torso and outer thighs in light plating, and a black hood up, shadowing her face. As soon as the door opened, she raised a hand, her omni-tool appearing around her hand before sending out an EMP, shorting out his tech for the third time in ten minutes. Then, she turned her arm to the side, a small screen appearing over her omni-tool, displaying Jentha laying in a medical bed, Chakwas tending to her.

"I already found your friend," the woman said. "She was a lot worse off than we thought, so I took her directly to doc first. She'll be okay now."

David stared at the image for another moment before looking back at the others. His shoulders sagged before he turned to Shepard and sank to his knees.

"Please, don't let her be arrested," David said. "She only ran away because of me."

"Then you saved her life," Garrus said. "She'd be dead if she'd tried to attack, just like Tarak and the rest of the Blue Suns that attacked me."

"Those that chased you into Afterlife were also killed by Aria T'Loak's personal security for having a shootout in Afterlife," the same synthetic voice that had ratted him out said.

"I see," David said, staring at the floor. "I didn't want them dead. I just...I couldn't lose Jentha. I begged her to run away with me. And I...I almost got her killed anyway."

The others were all silent for a long moment. Finally, Shepard cleared his throat. "So, what should we do with him? Opinions?"

"Smartest to kill him," Mordin said. "Knows how to get into Normandy. Could possibly replicate the feat. Or tell others how to. Best to deal with him now."

"I'll do it," the Krogan volunteered, chuckling at the thought.

"If he's a Blue Sun, I say we kill him just for being a goddamn idiot enough to get caught," Zaeed said. "Why'd they accept you, anyway? You're obviously not a fighter."

"I'm good with tech," David said meekly. "I was never on the front lines. I just hacked defenses, cameras, and bank accounts. Anything to make a job easier."

"I agree with Mordin," Miranda said. "Better to not take any chances."

"You're not serious, right?" Jacob asked. "Sure, he stowed away on the ship, but it wasn't intentional. And he was only stealing to try and keep his girlfriend alive."

"We're not seriously considering this, right?" Garrus asked.

"You can't kill him for defending the person he loves!" Kasumi said. "I say we treat his girlfriend until she's better, then let them off at the Citadel and let them get away if they can. It's not fair to kill him, and it'd be a waist to let someone as skilled as he is with tech rot in prison. You should hear the stories that Jentha chick has about his tech skills. He's a master, apparently."

Shepard stared at David for a long several seconds before nodding to himself. "Alright, I've decided."

The Krogan chuckled, raising his shotgun.

"You've got a choice," Shepard said. "If you join my team, we'll treat your friend. Or, we can drop you off with C-Sec."

"Wait, what!?" Miranda demanded. "You found someone who snuck onto your ship and stole your food and medicine, and now you want to _recruit_ them?"

"Seriously, Shepard," Jacob said. "This one's just asking for something important to go missing, like your gun, or your helmet. You can't trust thieves."

"Excuse me," Kasumi said. "I take offense to that."

"I'm not a thief," David said.

"Then what are you?" Shepard asked.

"I'm...not really anything," David said. "I...I never was really...able to get any kind of job before Jentha. She got me a spot as a Blue Sun under Tarak by convincing him my tech skills were better than they were."

"Better?" Mordin asked, scanning David's omni-tool. "Disagree. Omni-tool extremely customized. Upgraded. Redundant self-charging power cells. Fabricator working at one hundred eighty percent efficiency. Hacking and sabotage software coded and programmed better than anything on normal markets or black market. All enhancements had to be made by hand. Skilled with Tech. Would make a good Salarian."

"Well, at least if he dies, you can take his omni-tool," Zaeed said.

"Impossible," Mordin said. "Omni-tool keyed into his DNA. Only works for him. Fine-tuned almost perfectly. Expect functions are almost instinct. Almost a part of him. Won't work for anyone else."

Zaeed grunted. "Sounds pointless then. Especially on a coward's arm."

David's face fell, and Kasumi sighed, setting a hand on his shoulder. "Well. If you're staying, then let's get you up to your friend. And we'll work on finding you some clean clothes and a shower after."

David's face darkened a couple of shades and he nodded, following her into the elevator. "Thank you. For taking her to get treated."

"Of course," Kasumi smiled. "I...know what it's like to lose someone you love."

A small pale turquoise holoscreen appeared across her eyes for a moment before winking out.

"You shouldn't have to feel that pain just because I was too lazy to help her," Kasumi said.

"You have a graybox?" David asked.

"You know what they are?" Kasumi asked.

A similar holoscreen appeared in front of David's eyes for a moment before winking out. "I use it to help with my tech skills."

"How?" Kasumi asked.

"I keep diagrams, specs, blueprints, and instructions in it," David said. "Anything that could be useful. Anything I see is instantly recorded, so I can always access whatever info I need."

"That's not a bad idea," Kasumi said as the elevator dinged open. "I'll bring the two of you some clothes and meet you in the medical bay."

David nodded and they separated. A few minutes later, David sat beside Jentha, who was asleep, and swallowed hard, taking her hand, Chakwas not sparing him a sideways glance.

* * *

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	4. Chapter 4

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

Prison Break

David looks up as Shepard walks into the medical bay and stops.

"I could tell you had a small frame, but I wasn't expecting you to be so scrawny," Shepard said. "Let's go. You're coming on this mission with me and Garrus."

"Where're we going?" David asked.

"We have to pick up a convict that Cerberus payed to have released into our custody," Shepard said. "They're an extremely powerful biotic named Jack, apparently. It should just be a quick in and out, but if it _does_ turn into a fight, we're bringing you because there's a lot of tech for you to sabotage in order to create a distraction."

"Do I get a gun?" David asked hesitantly.

"What kinds can you use well?" Shepard asked.

"Well..." David trailed off, staring at the bed.

"David's not confident in himself, but he's good with Assault Rifles, Submachine guns, and pistols," Jentha spoke up, opening her eyes for the first time since she'd gone to the medical bay. "He'll have to modify the Assault Rifle first, though."

"Modify?" Shepard asked. "For what?"

"Recoil and weight," Jentha said. "Like you said. He's not the strongest guy around."

David's head sank lower but Jentha slipped her hand into his, smiling up at him.

"Hey," Jentha smiled. "Go with him. It could be fun."

David smiled slightly and nodded, leaning down and kissing her. She sighed, kissing him back for a few seconds before he stood, following Shepard out of the room. They headed to the armory where Garrus was getting a sniper rifle and an assault rifle. David glanced at the armor locker but Shepard led him to the weapons instead.

"We don't have any armor that would fit you," Shepard asked. "If you do well on this mission, we'll requisition something that will fit you. Do you have shield capacitors?"

David nodded. "I have some in my omni-tool."

Shepard nodded, handing David a Predator pistol and a Shuriken Submachine Gun. Then, the three of them headed to the airlock, arriving as they finished docking at Purgatory, a prison ship run by a Blue Suns cell. To say David was nervous about being around Blue Suns was an understatement. However, he didn't have a lot of options, so here he was.

They walked along the docking tube to the three Blue Suns mercs guarding the entrance. A Turian and two humans, or maybe Batarians. As they reached them, the Turian stepped forward.

"Welcome to the Purgatory, Shepard," the Turian said. "Your package is being prepped, and you can claim it shortly. As this is a high-security vessel, you'll need to relinquish your weapons before we proceed."

"I can't do that," Shepard said flatly just as the Warden, a Turian named Kuril, walked into the room.

"Everyone stand down," Kuril said. "Commander, I'm Warden Kuril and this is my ship. Your weapons will be returned on the way out. You must realize this is just a standard procedure."

"It's _my_ standard procedure to keep my gun," Shepard said, he and Kuril both narrowing their eyes, challenging the other to try something.

"Let them proceed," Kuril relented finally. "Our facility is more than secure enough to handle three armed guests."

The Turian merc stepped out of the way.

"We're bringing Jack out of cryo," Kuril said. "As soon as the funds clear you can be on your way. If you'll follow me to Out Processing for the pickup, Commander."

"Let's go," Shepard nodded, Kuril turning and walking into the station.

Garrus and David followed, David glancing back at the three guards just before the door closed. As they walked along the raised hallway with glass walls, Kuril explained that each cell was a self-contained modular unit, and that in the thirty identical cell blocks, there were thousands of prisoners. He explained that their expenses were funded by each world a prisoner came from paying a fee for the prisoner, and that if they didn't pay, the prisoner would be released back onto the planet without the planet being warned. He explained a bit about Jack, and about his past as well, but David wasn't really paying attention. Kuril was beginning to take an interest in David, his eyes darting back to him every few seconds. Finally, Shepard suggest they get moving again, since they'd stopped for their conversation, and Kuril agreed, continuing their tour, once again glancing at David. David glanced to the side just as a pair of prisoners began to argue, only for a Turian guard to use his omni-tool to activate a barrier projector, sealing both inside of one so they couldn't fight. Finally, Kuril left to confirm the funds cleared, taking one last long look at David before walking away. Shepard and the others followed his directions past the interrogation rooms and Supermax wing.

"Did he recognize you?" Shepard asked.

"I don't know," David said. "It's possible."

"Whoever took over after Tarak died could have known you ran away and decided it was worth putting a bounty on your head," Garrus suggested.

"I suppose," David nodded. "Or maybe I've met Kuril once and didn't remember it."

They stopped at a room where a prisoner was getting beaten.

Shepard turned to the guard watching the beating. "There's no excuse for beating a prisoner who can't fight back."

"This is a massage compared to what his victims went through," the guard said.

"This degrades you as much as him," Shepard said.

"We have orders," the guard said.

"You're not important enough to make your own decisions?" Shepard asked.

_Yeah, that's not how the Blue Suns works,_ David thought.

"I admit...I sometimes get tired of this," the guard said. "Does this really get us anything useful?"

"Stop this," Shepard advised. "For your own sake."

"Yeah, you're right," the guard agreed. "Call it off. At least for now."

Shepard nodded and they turned, continuing to walk, only for the next prisoner to call out to them.

"Hey, if you're buying prisoners, can you buy me?" the prisoner asked.

"We're here for Jack," Shepard said.

"Jack?" the prisoner asked. "Shit, forget what I said. I don't want to go anywhere with you."

"Is Jack really that bad?" Shepard asked.

"Jack's the worst trouble you ever saw, mixed with some crazy and way too much biotic power," the prisoner said. "That's all I'm saying."

"Commander," David said, staring down the hallway the way they'd come. "I think we should hurry along."

Shepard glanced down the hallway to where several guards were watching them and nodded. "Be ready for anything."

The three of them turned, quickly heading for Out Processing, all three tense and ready to draw their weapons at a moment's notice. The next door opened, and a lab technician directed them to a door on the opposite side of the room. Except, when the door opened, it was a cell. David turned, but the technicians were all running out of the room. As they did, a PA system crackled to life.

"My apologies, Shepard," Kuril's voice said. "You're more valuable as a prisoner than a customer. Drop your weapons and proceed into this open cell. You will not be harmed."

"You talked up your noble intentions with this prison," Shepard said. "But it turns out you're a criminal like the rest."

"Activate systems!" Kuril ordered.

David vanished instantly, and Garrus and Shepard both ducked behind one of the tables. Several mercs stepped into the doorway, quickly opening fire into the far tables and moving into cover as well. Then, as Shepard and Garrus began to try to shoot back, two light mechs armed with shuriken submachine guns and a FENRIS canine mech entered, the humanoid mechs opening fire as the dog charged. Shepard dropped the dog in seconds with an extended burst from his Assault Rifle. Garrus took down one of the two mechs with a headshot, but just as it exploded, the mercs all began to fire. Garrus dropped, shield sparking and fading as Shepard hunkered down as well.

"Move forward!" A merc shouted.

"Where'd he go!?" Shepard demanded.

Garrus shook his head. "Bolted probably!"

After a moment, Shepard leaned out, dropping a merc, allowing his shield to block a handful of shots for him. A moment later, Garrus and Shepard both dropped one. However, both had to drop as their shields dropped again with a rocket blast. Shepard held up three fingers and Garrus nodded. Then, just as Shepard's countdown reached one, a single pistol shot rang out among the assault rifle fire before two distorted voices suddenly began to gasp and choke, all of the shooting stopping. Garrus and Shepard exchanged a confused look and both stood from cover, rifles first, only to find David standing behind the two assault-rifle-wielding mercs, a blade extending from the bottom of the front of an omni-tool on each arm, the omni-blades stabbed through the mercs' necks, killing both. The merc with the rocket launcher was lying on the ground with a bullet hole in their head.

David's blades faded and the two mercs dropped just before David once again winked out of view. "I'm sorry!"

"That was...actually impressive," Garrus said. "You've got skill as an infiltrator. You'd probably make a good assassin."

"Come on," Shepard said. "We need to get Jack. David, you'd better help more than the last three this time."

"I will," David said, nodding, even though they couldn't see him.

The three of them left the room and turned a corner tot he hallway to cryo, only for a handful of mercs to open fire at them, Shepard and Garrus both ducking into cover. Shepard looked around before swearing.

"I can't shoot if I don't know where he is!" Shepard snarled.

Just then, an explosion went off behind the three Turian mercs, the fireball swallowing the Batarian Legionnaire behind them. When the explosion cleared, the Batarian was dead, and the three Turians had been thrown to the ground between Garrus and Shepard, who quickly finished them. David reappeared where the mercs had been, looking worried.

"Was that okay?" David asked. "I can stay behind you if you want."

Shepard and Garrus looked at each other for a moment before turning back to David.

"That was perfect," Shepard said. "Take that Legionnaire's armor. That way your shields will be stronger and we don't have to worry about you dying if we accidentally shoot you."

David nodded, quickly putting the armor on inside a minute, then typed on his omni-tool for a moment before blue Tech Armor flashed to life over his body. They quickly headed to the next door and Shepard opened it, instantly shooting a lab tech who spun toward them with a shotgun in-hand. Shepard walked over to a laptop that had the controls for the cells.

"Careful," David warned. "That's let out every prisoner in this cell block."

"It's the only way to get Jack out of cryo," Garrus pointed out.

"I'm doing it," Shepard said. "Be ready."

He initiated the release procedure and a large machine like an arm with two prongs like fingers rose up over the cryo cell directly in front of them, raising it. Instead of a behemoth of a man, shining with biotic power and shrieking crazed profanities at the world, the cell held a girl. She looked to be in her early twenties or so, maybe twenty five at most. She's got on a pair of reddish, rust-colored pants, black combat boots, a grey cloth that may have been a shirt hanging from the back of her waist, tattoos covering every inch of her exposed torso and neck, and nothing else covering her top half save for a leather strap around her breasts to cover her nipples, and a pair of straps running up to a metal collar-like section around her neck.

"That's Jack?" Garrus asked.

After a moment, she woke, ripping her hands free of their restraints instantly and reaching up to the one around her neck, pulling for a moment before breaking that one open too. She fell to her knees, holding a hand to her head and folding forward at the waist, the light revealing even more tattoos over her back, and two more straps reaching up from the back of her chest strap to the collar. Four heavy mechs began to walk toward her and she reached up to a railing and shouted in rage, throwing herself into a sprint as her entire body suddenly shone with biotic power, her right fist even more so. Then, she punched one of the middle mechs and a massive explosion jolted the floor.

David let out a startled cry and flickered for a moment before swallowing. "I guess she lives up to the biotic part."

"Let's go!" Shepard said, heading for a door off to the side as he drew his assault rifle again.

Suddenly, he spun, squeezing off a burst, which slammed into David's shields and stopped cold, David shrieking in fear and turning invisible.

"You've got strong shields," Shepard said. "How much damage did I do?"

"Not much," David said from off to one side, far away from where Shepard was facing.

"Good," Shepard said. "We won't worry so much about shooting you, then."

David nodded and Shepard and Garrus headed through the door. David hesitated before following. They headed down one level and stepped out into the room Jack had just left just as another explosion rocked the station. The Mechs were all trashed. David stared at them in awe. It had been one biotic punch, and she'd destroyed all four of the mechs, as well as blasting a hole in the wall to escape through. Several screams echoed from the hole before another explosion rocked the station. An alert began to scream the word "Warning" at them over and over.

"They're attacking Jack," Garrus said.

"Are they insane?" David asked, flickering.

"Most likely," Garrus said.

"Come on," Shepard said, hurrying toward the hole Jack had made, the others following him into what seemed to be a massive air shaft.

"All guards, restore order!" Kuril's voice shouted over the PA system. "Lethal force authorized. But don't kill Jack! Techs, lockdown! Lockdown!"

As they ran, more and more explosions rocked the base. There was another every few seconds.

"Sectors Seven, Nine, and Eleven have lost life support," the station's automated alert reported. "No survivors."

They exited the air shaft into the cellblock they'd passed earlier, finding it destroyed. Pods and machines lay scattered and broken around the floor, corpses lay here and there, and there was a shootout off to the left between the prisoners and guards. There was a short bridge with metal paneling along the railing to their left, with a short ramp down to the lower level of the floor. They hurried to that only for bullets to begin slamming into it, David shrieking and vanishing as Shepard and Garrus ducked into cover. A metal arm that was supposed to control the cells fell from the ceiling, crashing to the ground on the opposite side of the bridge from their attackers.

David sprinted for cover, seeing the guards drop the last of the prisoners and turn to focus their fire on Shepard and Garrus, keeping the pair mostly pinned down, though they _did_ manage to slowly and carefully pick off the guards one at a time. However, a moment later, a YMIR Heavy Mech began to open fire at them and they were pinned instantly, unable to lean out long enough to shoot without the mech shredding them, shields and all. But David wasn't being shot at, and was more than capable of repurposing that mech. He sprinted for it, extending an omni-blade on the way and slashing a Heavy's spine. Then, he skidded around the mech and leapt onto it, placing his omni-tool to its head as his graybox's holoscreen flicked on, two screens of coding flashing up in individual boxes, scrolling up their boxes in a blur until the one on the right suddenly matched the other. Then, the screen winked out and his omni-tool deactivated, the mech turning and opening fire on the guards as David sprinted off tot he side before using his omni-tool's fabricator to send a ball of highly reactive gas into one of the guards, the ball exploding on contact when the containment field broke.

After several seconds, the mech's gun stopped and Shepard and Garrus stood, staring at it as David appeared on top of it again, waving them over. They stared at each other before jogging over to the mech, who was walking toward a door. David dropped to the ground and opened the door and the mech stomped through a small, winding passage to the next area, stomping down a short slope before opening fire at several guards on an overhead walkway. After a few minutes, it finished with them and turned to a larger group of guards off to the right, along with another YMIR mech. The two mechs began to spray each other with bullets and rockets, but with the mercs helping their mech, David's didn't last long. It _did_, however, last long enough for Garrus, Shepard, and David to each get into position, Garrus and Shepard behind cover and David off to the side. The three opened fire, quickly mopping up the merc guards, then headed for the next door. Above them, the automated alert was warning about core systems failure and hull breaches, and Kuril was screaming about something or other, but David's head was pounding from the alarm blaring now, so he had stopped listening to try and spare himself a bit of the headache.

As they ran into the room, Kuril shot at them a couple of times with a Revenant in one hand, the buttstock braced against his hip. Shepard and Garrus dove for cover, and David began to make his way toward Kuril.

"You're valuable Shepard," Kuril said. "I could have sold you and lived like a king! But you're too much trouble! At least I can recapture Jack." He took another shot at Shepard, the bullet bouncing off the crate Shepard was crouching behind.

"Not happening!" Shepard shouted back. "You're a two-bit slave trader, and I don't have time for it!"

"I do the hard things Civil Governments are unwilling to!" Kuril shouted as David climbed up onto the massive platform Kuril was on. "This is for the good of the galaxy!"

Just as David stood behind Kuril, three barrier projectors rose around the room, forming a barrier around the platform. Blue Suns began to swarm into the room, Shepard and Garrus firing at them from cover, managing to hold their own. David looked to the side, seeing a merc with tech armor issuing orders to the rest, coordinating them, and quickly remote-hacked his tech armor, making the power sustaining it instead electrocute the Turian, killing him. Without his orders, the mercs began to fall into disarray, their strategy crumbling faster and faster as Shepard and Garrus used explosive gas canisters and explosive rounds to sew chaos. Once David was sure they had the upper hand, he turned to Kuril and extended an omni-blade, driving it into Kuril's head and killing him instantly. He set Kuril on the ground and turned visible, waving to Garrus, who let out a bark of laughter.

"Well whataya know?" Garrus shouted over the gunfire. "That scrawny coward actually did it."

He leaned out, dropping a trio of mercs as Shepard hurled a singularity at several more, shooting them as they were suspended in the air. Then, he and Garrus quickly dropped the barrier, freeing David, who drew his pistol and quickly shot the last three mercs.

"Not bad," Shepard said. "You're more useful than I expected. We'll get you some proper armor when we get back."

David nodded, then glanced up at the hallway leading to the docking tube just as Jack sprinted down it, glowing with biotic power. Shepard quickly ran to a door off to the side, David and Garrus following, and after a short flight of stairs, they reached the docking tube just in time for David to shoot a guard who was sprinting at Jack, who was having something like a meltdown.

"What the hell do you want!?" Jack demanded.

"My name is Commander Shepard, and I'm here to get you off of this ship," Shepard said, stepping past David.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Jack snarled. "You're Cerberus. You've even got a sleeper agent."

"Actually, I took this armor off a dead merc because I didn't have any," David said, already taking the over-sized armor back off.

"Why does it matter if I'm with Cerberus?" Shepard asked.

"They've been on my ass for years," Jack said. "Any time I get free, they put a huge bounty on me. That's why Warden Kuril figured he'd struck gold when he caught me. It's not working out so well for him."

"I killed him," David said.

"You did?" Jack asked. "Bet he must feel stupid if the scrawny one put him down. Congratulations, Tiny, you're a real man now."

David's head sunk a little. "I didn't mean it like that."

"I'm here to ask for your help," Shepard spoke up.

"You show up in a Cerberus frigate to take me away somewhere..." Jack shook her head. "You think I'm stupid?"

"This ship is going down in flames," Shepard said. "We can get you to safety, and we're asking for your help."

"We could knock her out and take her," Garrus suggested.

"Are you crazy?" David asked, flickering nervously. "She'd kill us all!"

"At least one of you has a brain," Jack said. "Look, you want me to come with you, make it worth my while."

"Join my team and I'll do what I can for you," Shepard said.

"Don't make promises you can't keep," Jack warned. "I bet your ship's got lots of Cerberus databases. I want to look at those files. See what Cerberus has got on me. You want me on your team, let me go through those databases."

"I'll give you full access," Shepard said.

"You better be straight up with me!" Jack snarled, receiving a nod. "So why the hell are we standing here?"

Shepard nodded and they all headed back to the ship. Within a few minutes, they were flying away from Purgatory as it continued to explode and break apart.

* * *

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	5. Chapter 5

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

Horizon

David stepped off the shuttle and followed Shepard and Jentha, his Predator in his hands as Jentha kept her Revenant raised and ready.

"We're ground side," Shepard said. "Mordin, you sure these armor upgrades will protect us from the seeker swarms?"

"Certainty impossible," Mordin said. "But in limited numbers, should confuse detection. Make us invisible to swarms. In theory."

"In theory?" Jentha asked, glancing at David nervously. "Why do I not feel reassured?"

"Experimental technology," Mordin defended himself. "Only test is contact to seeker swarms. Look forward to seeing if you survive."

"Great," David said, flickering rapidly. "We're all going to die down here."

"Hey," Jentha smiled, taking his hand. "We'll be alright. I'll watch your back, alright?"

David smiled slightly and nodded.

"Let's go you two," Shepard called back at them, both jogging to catch up.

They rounded a corner into an open storage area with crates and containers piled up like the walls of a maze, Collectors, huge humanoid insect-like creatures, began to fly down from above, landing among the boxes and raise rifles that looked to be made out of some kind of organic material. David shouted in fear, vanishing instantly as Shepard and Jentha opened fire. David fired as well, but never from the same place, and not quickly. Some of the Collectors were protected by barriers. Most of those had weapons that fired solid beams of white energy, while most of the ones that didn't fired bursts of energy projectiles like bullets. And they were accurate, too. Shepard and Jentha were struggling to keep from getting pinned down, constantly switching between spots of cover. A Collector landed in front of David and he drove an omni-blade into its back. It shrieked, firing a beam as its arm swung, the beam flashing across several other Collectors. As that one dropped, David let his omni-blade fade, the omni-tool's fabricator forming a crossbow around his hand, which he fired into a Collector that was about to flank Jentha. The Collector dropped on the spot and David dove for cover as Collector gunfire began to spray the entire area around him in an effort to find and kill him.

He waited, listening as Shepard and Jentha opened fire again, rapidly dropping the distracted Collectors. David stood once the Collectors had forgotten about him again and sent a ball of combustible gasses into one Collector, lighting him up like a match head, then fired a ball of cryogenic fluids onto another, freezing it in place before shooting it four times, shattering it. And suddenly, it was over. Shepard rounded a stack of boxes and mowed down the last handful of Collectors, and the three of them looked around to make sure everyone else was still alive.

"David, you did great!" Jentha cheered, rushing forward and jumping, grabbing him in a hug, nearly knocking him over.

"Thanks," David smiled sheepishly. "So did you."

"Congratulate each other later!" Shepard said. "We have a mission to complete."

"Right, sorry," Jentha said, pulling her rifle off her back again as they followed him out of the storage area through a small path made by a cliff on the right and a five foot tall white wall on the other.

Just past the cliff, which was rounded and only about thirty feet long, a white wall stretched a couple hundred feet to another cliff. By the way the ground was sloped toward the wall, David assumed it was blocking off a drop. They followed the path silently and quickly, keeping their eyes on the sky as much as the ground. David glanced at the Collectors' ship in the distance. A massive tube of metal and some kind of organic-looking substance like a wasp nest or something. The ship easily dwarfed the Normandy, many dozens of times over.

Joker tried to radio them suddenly, but the signal was broken, and cut out entirely at the end. David swallowed hard. That was never a good sign. They dropped off a low wall and found themselves at the first of the outlying buildings. Just as they did, more Collectors arrived. David vanished instantly, heading for the building while Shepard took cover at a metal flowerbed directly in front of himself and Jentha cut left to a small raised platform with metal walls for cover. David stepped into the building and immediately cut right as a Collector stepped into the opposite doorway and sprayed through the door David had gone through. David shot the Collector and immediately dove to the side just as a Collector with a beam weapon dropped in, firing where he had been. Then, bullets slammed into its barrier from behind and it spun to shoot at Jentha, only for David to shoot it from behind as she was spraying it from the front, their bullets finishing it in less than a second. David scrambled up and headed for the door just as several creatures like corpses with wires and cables running through them ran toward it, all groaning miserably, a pair of blue lights replacing their eyes and tubes extending out of their mouths. David shouted in surprise, forming a pair of omni-blades and killed the two heading for him before grabbing his pistol again just as Shepard's Singularity picked up the other four, which died quickly. David realized the Collectors were all dead as well and sighed, deactivating his cloaking tech as Shepard and Jentha walked over.

"What were those?" Shepard asked.

"Husks," Shepard said. "Saren and the Geth used them, but they got the technology for it from Sovereign, a Reaper."

"Like, the living ships, Reapers?" David asked.

"That's right," Shepard nodded. "I guess this gives confirmation their working together."

David nodded as they continued to walk. He paused by a dead collector and scanned it with his omni-tool, humming thoughtfully to himself. However, when he looked up and saw Jentha and Shepard were still walking, he "eeped," then flickered slightly and ran to catch up. Around the next corner, they found one of the creatures dead and Shepard stopped to inspect it, David once again scanning the corpse.

"It's got microscopic machines in its blood," David said. "And it was impaled on a spike."

"Dragon Teeth," Shepard said. "They were created that way on Eden Prime, too."

"I haven't seen any spikes," Jentha said. "Maybe further in?"

"It's possible," Shepard said. "But I think the Collectors brought the Husks with them. Which means this isn't a colonist. They're being taken for something else."

"It might be a colonist from somewhere else," David pointed out. "They take them to their ship, turn them into husks there, then use them on another colony."

"I don't think so," Shepard said. "Maybe some, but I feel like there's something else going on. Anyway, we need to move. The Collectors won't wait around all day for us to stop them."

David and Jentha nodded in agreement and they quickly continued along the path they were in. At the end of it, however, they turned and found several cocoon-like pods where Collectors were standing around, as though guarding them. All three opened fire instantly. David winked out of sight and sprinted to the side as Jentha and Shepard used the, apparently bulletproof, cocoons for cover. The Collectors hadn't been in cover, and dropped rapidly and easily. When more began to arrive, David greeted the one in the lead with a ball of combustible gasses. The other three shrank back and Shepard dropped one as Jentha dropped another. The last made some chattering noise and charged, but both sprayed him with bullets.

"Let's go!" Shepard said. "We can't let them take any more colonists!"

They ran toward the settlement, passing several buildings, all of which were empty, before finding another crate storage area. On the other side was a set of stairs that led up into the second story of a building, and they found the first of the colonists. A man was frozen in some kind of stasis field made of dark smoke while trying to help a woman up from the ground, the woman also frozen.

"Stasis field," David said, then cried out in surprise and winked out of existence as the man's eyes flicked to him, David reappearing a moment later. "They're conscious! Hang on. We're going to deal with the Collectors, then we'll find a way to help you. Just try to be patient."

"Let's go," Shepard said. "The AA-guns aren't far."

David nodded and followed Shepard down to the street and away from the stairs. Shepard paused by one of the cocoons lying in the streets to pick up a beam weapon a Collector had abandoned. At the end of the street, there was an area with a mess of low walls. However, as soon as they stepped into the square, Collectors began to land in the square as well, dozens of them. However, one of them suddenly began to spasm and float as its body cracked and flames began to flicker out of it. Then, a deep voice echoed from it.

"I am assuming direct control," the voice announced.

Then, the shooting started. David was gone before the first shot finished its flight, and Shepard and Jentha both got into cover before a single shot hit their shields. Though the moment they leaned out to fire, their shields lit up like the Fourth of July fireworks on Earth. David carefully killed several Collectors before the burning one turned and stared directly at him, following him as he tried to sneak around the square. Finally he stopped. Jentha and Shepard were pinned. Their shields were down, and the Collectors were closing in. His options were limited.

He formed an omni-bow just as the burning collector pulled an arm back. Then, it shoved it forward and a ball of shining orangish energy sped through the air at him. He shouted in fear and dove aside, forming an omni-blade on his free arm as he rolled to his feet beside another Collector, stabbing it through the head, then spinning and shooting one about to round a corner into view of Shepard and Jentha. He sprinted to another and grabbed it, spinning and hurling it into a ball of flame and darkness the burning Collector had launched at him, slower than the last one, and the blast exploded, obliterating the Collector. David turned, forming a pair of blades and slashing a pair of Collectors with them, then stabbing a third with his left as his right drew a pistol and began to rapidly shoot a small group of others. Then, he swapped his pistol for his Shuriken Submachine Gun and turned, beginning to spray the burning Collector, only for its barrier to effortlessly hold off the bullets. However, a moment later, Jentha's bullets began to slam into it as well, and a moment later, the barrier faded and her bullets ripped through its body, killing it.

David sighed, turning to the last handful of collectors as Shepard finished slaughtering them with his rifle and biotics. He sighed, dropping heavily onto a crate as he became visible again.

"That was impressive," Shepard said. "When you decide to put effort in, you're actually deadly."

"Thanks," David said. "In there, right?" He gestured at a bunker off to the side, which was sealed.

"Yes," Shepard nodded.

They walked over and David hacked their way in with a wave of his omni-tool. However, as they reached the bottom of the stairs inside, something metal hit the ground off to the side.

"Company," Shepard said, all three drawing and turning toward the source. "Get out here!"

You're...You're human," the person that stepped out said, all three putting their weapons away. "What are you doing here!? You'll lead them right here!"

"You had to hear them trying to get in," Shepard said. "Seems like it's hard to hide from the Collectors."

"Those things are Collectors?" the guy asked. "You mean, they're real? I thought they were just made up. You know...propaganda. To keep us in Alliance Space."

"Seemed pretty real to me," Jentha said.

"No!" the guy said, starting to panic. "They got Lilith! I saw her go down! Sten, too! They got damn near everybody!"

"Everybody but you," David said. "You were already in here. Why?"

"Name's Delan," the guy said. "I'm a mechanic. I came down to check on the main grid after we lost our comm signals. Then I heard screaming. I looked outside and there was swarms of...bugs. Everyone they touched just froze. I sealed the doors. Damn it! I-I-It's the Alliance's fault! They stationed that Chief Williams here and built those defense towers! It made us a target!"

"Defense towers?" David frowned. "You mean the AA-guns?"

"Yeah, those," Delan nodded. "High-powered GARDIAN lasers. A _gift_ from the Alliance. Supposed to keep hostile ships from landing near the colony. Only they kill our power supply. Had to build a massive underground generator just to give it enough juice. And then we couldn't get the targeting systems online. So the Alliance gave us a giant gun that couldn't shoot straight! Stupid sons-of-bitches."

"We noticed the guns on the way down," Shepard said. "We're planning to use them to drive the Collector ship off."

"You'd need to calibrate the targeting system first," Delan said.

"I can handle that," David said. "Which way?"

"Head for the main transmitter on the other side of the colony," Delan said. "Pretty hard to miss. The targeting controls are at the base."

David nodded, hacking the other door open as easily as the first and setting it to seal behind them, and the three of them left, heading deeper into the colony.

* * *

Leave a review.


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

Consequences

David ducked down into cover as bullets began to slam into the crate behind him continuously. It was official. Whatever was taking over the Collectors and turning them into burning puppets was a problem. His invisibility didn't affect it, so it could direct the others to shoot at him. In the last twenty minutes since they'd left the bunker, they'd stepped outside and rounded a corner into a gunfight and had immediately gotten pinned down by a burning Collector directing the others to target David, and a massive ball of blue growths on a withered black body with a cannon for an arm. The massive thing was firing trails of blue plasma explosions out of his cannon, similar to a biotic Shockwave, Jack's favorite attack.

David glanced to the side where Jentha and Shepard were struggling to shoot back without the big thing blasting them. David swallowed hard. He had to do something. They couldn't. So, he activated his tech armor and leaned out, firing a ball of combustible gasses at the big thing even as the other Collectors beat his shield like a hard rain. It exploded, enveloping the thing in a fiery explosion, leaving it in a massive blaze of flame. A deafening shriek of agony cut through the air and the thing staggered backward, continuing to burn, then turned to him, firing. David ducked back down just before his shields broke, and an explosion crashed into the other side of the crate.

Instantly, Shepard and Jentha stood, Jentha focusing on the big thing while Shepard turned and began to shoot the Collectors. David gave his shields another moment to recharge before leaning out again and firing an omni-bow at the big thing, the arrow driving itself into the massive blue bulge on its back before exploding, blasting the thing's body apart. It collapsed with a final shriek and several bullets punched through David's shields, slamming into his armor hard and hurling him backward to the ground. Jentha shouted in fear but focused on the remaining Collectors. Shepard moved to target the burning Collector, and it hurled a ball of flames at him and Shepard rolled under it, then rolled up to his one knee before putting a handful of bullets through its head, killing it.

David sighed, pushing himself up as his shields rebooted. He looked down at his armor, sighing as he ran a hand over the scorch marks on the armor. He was amazed it had held up. Probably not if he took any more shots, but those hadn't broken through. He looked up as Jentha reached him, hugging him.

"Are you okay?" Jentha asked.

"Yeah," David nodded. "My armor's a lot stronger than I thought."

"I guess the prototype works, then," Shepard said.

David nodded and they turned, continuing through the colony. A few houses later, they reached a massive door, which David began to hack open.

"I don't see anymore colonists around here," Jentha noted.

"Probably already on the ship," David said. "The closer we get, the more time they've had to load them onto the ship."

The door hissed open and they spotted the comm tower directly ahead of them. However, less than a second after they walked through the door, two of the massive creatures with cannons stepped out from behind a low, curved wall with the control system for the comm tower and defense tower in it. David winked out of existence instantly and Jentha and Shepard each chose a creature, beginning to spray it while running for cover. Husks began to flood toward them from all sides. David focused on the Husks, killing them with a combination of his pistol, omni-bow, and combustible gasses. Shepard caught a group of them in a singularity and David blasted them with an Incineration Blast, then spun, forming an omni-blade and slashing a Husk across the face as it reached him. He shot the next and ducked into cover as one of the two massive creatures shot toward where a Husk was suddenly split open. The trail of plasma explosions killed a couple Husks that were closing in on David before Shepard and Jentha focused their fire on one of the creatures, killing it finally. The other turned to shoot at them but David hit it with an Incineration Blast. It shrieked, turning toward him, only for Jentha to saw its legs off with her Revenant. Then, when it hit the ground, its body exploded into a massive blue ball of plasma, the concussion throwing Jentha and David to the ground and smashing all of the remaining Husks against the various crates, platforms, and walls around the area.

"Ow," David said. "Let's not do that again."

"My bad," Jentha groaned.

They all headed to the AA-guns controls and David turned on the computer, syncing it to his omni-tool and quickly scanning the coding.

"Found the error," David said. "Fixed. I cleared comms up too."

"EDI, can you get the defense towers online?" Shepard asked.

"Yes," EDI said. "However, it will take time for them to reach full power. I recommend a defensive posture. I will not be able to mask increased generator output."

"The Collectors won't just sit around and wait for us to blow up their ship," Jentha said.

"Any helpful tips, EDI?" Shepard asked.

"Just one," EDI said. "Enemy reinforcements are closing in on your position."

David winked out of existence instantly, and Shepard and Jentha scrambled to a raised platform that had moderate cover from all sides, as well as a decent vantage point to shoot from. Then, the chaos began. The Collectors arrived in force, and from all sides, completely surrounding them immediately. And a burning Collector was one of the first, instantly attacking David with its corrupted biotics. David scrambled for cover, shooting any Collectors he could, as well as hurling Incineration Blasts at them, and as soon as he was down, Collector gunfire began to rain down on the crate. The burning collector turned to attack Shepard and Jentha instead, but Shepard sent a Warp, a ball of unstable dark energy, into its chest, the resulting biotic explosion killing it instantly, its body burning away to ash as the burning collectors always did. He caught a group firing at David with a Singularity, and David hit one of them with an Incineration Blast, killing all of them. Then, several shots slammed into his back and ripped through his shields, hurling him forward several feet before he scrambled tot he side, into cover, breath coming in ragged, terrified gasps as a dozen Collectors closed in on him. His shield capacitors were damaged, and his shields couldn't regenerate. The Collectors were closing in rapidly, the shots already hitting the ground on the "safe" side of his cover, as well as glancing off the crate less than an inch from his head. He had maybe a couple seconds until he was dead, but he couldn't move, even invisible, without getting sprayed with bullets.

Then, the shooting stopped. He activated his cloaking tech and stood, only to freeze. Jentha wasn't in cover. She was charging the Collectors that had been firing at him. She'd already killed almost half, and the rest were fleeing from her. Her gun clicked and let a jet of steam, but she ejected the thermal clip and shoved another in in the blink of an eye, returning to firing. Two of the Collectors got into cover from her, only for David to drop them both with his pistol. Jentha finished the last one and stopped, sighing and grinning toward where he was, though not quite at him. He smiled, only for it to melt away as a burning Collector landed behind her.

"Jentha!"

The Collector's hand erupted from her chest and she coughed up blood, eyes wide with shock, and the Collector lifted her off the ground before its free hand gripped her shoulder, holding her in place while it ripped its hand back out. Then, it dropped her and turned on him. David stared at her in shock, blood coating her torso and quickly running out from under her, forming a pool in seconds, eyes staring lifelessly at the sky. He broke. His cloaking tech flickered and he fell to his knees, shouting in grief, then again in fear as bullets began to crash into the ground and crates around him. He scrambled to the side, over a crate into a small area in the middle of four of them where he was protected from all sides. He curled into the fetal position as bullets slammed into the crates, sobbing as he clutched at his helmet. It couldn't be real. It couldn't be happening. She couldn't be dead. She had promised they'd be okay. She couldn't die.

"David!" Shepard shouted. "Get up! Fight!"

David ignored him, sobbing in grief and fear as bullets continued to slam into the crates, though not as fast now that Shepard was up and moving. Shepard swore as he understood he'd be on his own. Then, he left cover and began to move. He walked in a fast glide, rifle roaring and spitting flames as he slaughtered Collectors. He sprayed a group of them, one of them surviving, for now, then stepped behind cover a high stack of crates. He swapped thermal clips, then stepped out, hurling a Singularity into a particularly thick group before finishing the wounded Collector. He sprayed another group just as a burning Collector stepped up beside the Singularity, its barrier protecting it. Shepard hurled a Warp into one of the suspended Collectors, and the opposing biotic fields erupted into a massive blast, turning all of the suspended Collectors into paste and random body parts while also destroying the burning Collector.

A Husk stepped out in front of Shepard and he planted his boot in its chest, hurling it backward before shooting it in the head, then spun, spraying a group of Collectors to his right. His gun vented steam and he swapped the thermal clips, turning at the corner of the stack of crates he was at and lighting up a group of Collectors that had almost reached David, killing them all.

More Collectors began to fly down from the ship, but Shepard fired up at them as they were. Several died in the air and fell, but most landed. Shepard hurled a Singularity and dropped behind cover, reloading again. Then, as he stepped out, he hurled a Warp at the massive group of Collectors in the Singularity and opened fire on a group off to the side, dropping them rapidly as he glided toward them. Just as the Singularity exploded and the group he was shooting died, his rifle ran dry again. He dropped it, since he was out of thermal clips, then stopped beside Jentha's body, picking up her freshly reloaded Revenant. As he did, a group of five Collectors, plus a burning Collector, landed to his right, so he spun, opening fire. The burning Collector hurled a fireball as those around it were shredded by Shepard's bullets. Shepard ducked past the fireball and punched, sending Warp back at it, the Warp exploding against its barrier and taking it down. Then, Shepard's bullets ripped through its body for several seconds before it began to disintegrate just as Shepard's borrowed rifle ran dry.

He sighed, dropping it, and turned to where David was still hiding and sobbing. "David! Get the fuck out here!"

"Shepard, I detect a power source closing in on your location rapidly," EDI said. "I recommend you take cover."

Shepard ducked down behind a stack of crates just as a massive, four-legged, bug-shaped machine flew down from the ship, hovering beside the comms tower. It had a pair of glowing blue eyes and its mouth was open, revealing dozens of husk heads. It shrieked loudly, hovering sideways, circling Shepard, and fired a pair of shining blue beams of energy from its eyes as Shepard pulled out his Collector beam weapon, waiting. As soon as the thing stopped firing, Shepard began. The beam slammed into the thing hard, dispersing against its plating for a moment before breaking through. At the same time, the GARDIAN lasers began to fire at the Collector ship. The Machine shrieked, turning slightly to get more plating into the beam's way, but the plating didn't hold well. It fired at Shepard again and he ducked down, though not before the machine's beam punched straight through his shields, grazing his pauldron and leaving a melted gash in it. Shepard ducked around the corner of his crate stack as the machine approached the other corner where it'd have a clear line of sight at him. Then, when its beam ended, Shepard stepped out, returning to fire and noticing that the crate stack he was using for cover would definitely not last for another round. He quickly glided toward another stack, but just as he did, the creature suddenly shrieked, energy racing over it as it dropped to the ground. When it hit, a pulse of energy shot off of it, launching Shepard, and all of the crates around it, away from itself. Shepard slammed into a stack of crates and knocked it over, tumbling backward with them, but landing in cover just before the creature began to fire again.

"David!" Shepard shouted. "I could use some help here!"

Again David failed to respond, so Shepard swore, shoving himself up and hurling a Warp at the same time as beginning to fire again. The Warp exploded into the thing where the armor was weakened by repeated hits from Shepard's beam and blasted a hole in it. However, as Shepard tried to aim at it, the beam suddenly flickered and died. Shepard swore and dove behind cover just ahead of the creature's beam. He took a couple breaths to calm his heartrate, then stepped out, pistol in hand, and hurled a Warp. The Warp slipped through the hole and exploded inside and the creature shrieked in agony, its front legs folding backward to clutch at its head as it began to shine bright blue, drifting into the air and breaking apart into tiny specks of light as it disintegrated.

Suddenly, the Collector ship's engines came online, the ship streaking rapidly away from the planet. Shepard turned, storming over to David and grabbing him by the slightly raised pieces of armor on top of his shoulders. He hurled him out of his hole and onto the ground, then lifted him again, by the throat this time.

"What the fuck!?" Shepard demanded. "Where were you!? Where the fuck was my backup in that fight!?"

"I'm sorry!" David apologized, still crying, though slightly less now. "I...I couldn't. Jentha's..."

"That's not excuse to just break down in the middle of a firefight!" Shepard shouted, shoving David away, David falling onto his ass. "You almost got us both killed by being a coward!"

Just then, Delan ran into the square.

"They got half the colony!" Delan said. "They took Egan, and Sam and...and Lilith! Do something!"

Shepard sighed heavily, turning to him. "It's too late. They're gone. I didn't want it to end this way. I did what I could." He raised a hand to his communicator. "Joker. It's Shepard. Send the shuttle. And a stretcher. Jentha didn't make it."

"Aye aye, Commander," Joker said.

"Shepard?" Delan asked. "Wait. I know that name. Sure, I remember you. You're some type of big Alliance hero."

"Commander John Shepard," a voice said as a woman in white and pink armor walked into view. "Captain of the Normandy. The first human Spectre. Savior of the Citadel. You're in the presence of a god, Delan. Back from the dead."

David's throat closed at that word, and he turned, his whole body going numb as he walked over to Jentha, dropping to his knees beside her and pulling his helmet off. He wiped the blood from the corner of her lips and tucked her hair behind her ear. And then, he began to cry again, quietly this time, and rested his forehead against hers, right hand resting on top of her head, left holding her right hand. After a few minutes, a hand settled on David's shoulder and he looked up, seeing Jack giving him a look that he would almost call sympathetic.

"Come on," Jack said. "We need to leave. I'll bring her."

David nodded, wiping his eyes and picking up the helmet, walking to the shuttle. After a moment, Jack joined them, setting Jentha's body on the floor off to the side, beside David.

* * *

"What you did jeopardized the mission, the Commander, yourself, and the entire colony!" Miranda ranted. "You're obviously more a hinderance than an asset!"

"Come on Miranda, cut him some slack," Jacob said. "He lost his girlfriend. I think he's hurting enough without insults being thrown at him."

"I'm sorry," David said miserably.

"Sorry doesn't cut it!" Miranda spat. "This mission is too important to have you risking it just because you're too much of a coward to fight without your girlfriend to protect you!"

"That's not fair!" Kasumi said. "Anyone with emotions would have been distraught after losing the person they love."

"But not everyone is such a coward that they hide and cry while their supposed ally fights for _both_ of their lives."

"Commander, I suggest we drop him off at the Citadel, or Omega, or anywhere else," Miranda said. "The sooner the better."

"That's a bit much," Garrus said. "One screw up doesn't automatically mean you have to be kicked off the ship. Right Shepard?"

Shepard didn't answer, staring at David with a calculating expression.

"Shepard!" Garrus said. "Tell me you're not really considering this. You're going to just throw him off the ship just because he didn't know how to react after losing the most important person in the world to him?"

"If I lost someone I loved, I'd destroy the person that did it," Shepard said.

"And you're an alpha personality," Garrus said. "He's not like you. Not everyone charges into gunfire without a plan like us and bludgeons their way through every problem. Some people don't get mad over loss and grief, they get hurt, or scared, or sad. That's the _normal_ response."

"Be that as it may, I still say we get him off of this ship before he gets someone else killed," Miranda said.

"That's not true and you know it!" Jacob said.

"Yeah, come on, Miranda," Joker said. "He didn't get Jentha killed. He got pinned down in a firefight and she left cover to help him. It's not his fault a freaky burning collector wanted to play Alien with his hand."

"Joker," Garrus said, giving him an exasperated and slightly irritated expression.

"Sorry," Joker said.

"He's a liability," Miranda said, turning to Shepard. "Shepard, as commander of this ship, it's your responsibility to-"

"Fuck off!" Jack snapped. "What, so he's not absolutely perfect, so now he's outlived his usefulness? Cerberus has decided they're not interested in him anymore, so they're just going to throw him away? What a bunch of arrogant pricks! People aren't just things to be fucked with and then disposed of!"

"We don't need to throw him off the ship," Kasumi said. "Isn't losing Jentha punishment enough to learn this lesson?"

"The lesson is because of how he reacted _after_ he lost her," Miranda said.

"And what, you think kicking him off the mission is going to be more painful, or a better lesson than the death of his girlfriend?" Joker asked. "Yeah, you've definitely never had a boyfriend."

"I don't know anyone who'd be interested in a cunt so heartlessly obsessed with Cerberus protocol that she probably masturbates to it," Jack said.

"Nice," Miranda said sarcastically. "That's very charming."

"Well, if you liked that, you'll love what I think about your personality," Jack smirked wickedly.

"Enough!" Shepard finally snapped. "We're not throwing him off the ship. Joker's right. David's suffering enough to learnt he lesson already. But if this happens again, David, if you...shut down in the middle of a fight, you're off the mission. I'll turn you over to C-Sec with enough evidence for you to be locked away for life."

David nodded, and Shepard dismissed everyone. David caught Shepard's arm before he could leave. "I really am sorry."

"I know," Shepard said.

"Can I...requisition parts?" David asked. "For my armor? And for a project I've been working on? Working will help me...it...it'll help."

"Sure," Shepard nodded. "Just ask EDI for whatever you need and we'll go pick it up when we have time."

Shepard left and Jack set a hand on David's shoulder, the two of them being the last ones in the room.

"It's...uh...better this way," Jack said.

"How?" David asked.

"Uh...well...she's...in a better place?" Jack offered, David's head sinking. "Shit. Sorry. I'm not really good at the whole...sympathy thing."

"It's alright," David said, turning to her and forcing a smile. "Thank you."

Jack shifted a little uncomfortably. "Yeah, well...you're welcome."

David nodded, smile growing a little. "I never expected to hear you be sympathetic."

"I'm not sympathetic!" Jack scoffed. "I just...got used to having you two down there with me. I don't want to have to deal with you moping around more than I have to."

David smiled, nodding, and stepped forward, wrapping his arms around Jack. She tensed, but after a moment, she wrapped her arms around him awkwardly, patting him on the shoulder a couple times.

"Okay, enough mushy shit," Jack said.

"Sorry," David said.

Jack sighed. "Come on. Let's go get your armor and this pet project of yours and get to work. Besides, those Cerberus databases aren't going to read themselves."

David nodded, smiling slightly and followed her out of the room, uploading a list of things he needed to EDI as he walked.

* * *

Leave a review.


	7. Chapter 7

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

Distracting

David's screwdriver slipped off of the piece of armor he was working on and he stopped, staring at it for a moment. His eyes drifted to the datapads, and the spot Jentha would always sit while reading them. His eyes watered and he wiped them before refocusing on his work. He'd replaced the damaged plating, the shield capacitors, and he'd upgraded the shields' strength and regeneration, a _lot_. Jentha would be proud. He sniffed, wiping his eyes again as he tinkered, and Jack glanced over at him, sighing quietly.

"I ever tell you about my tattoos?" Jack asked.

David looked up at her for a moment before shaking his head, setting his tools down to listen, Jack also setting the datapad she was reading down.

"Well, some of them are for prisons I've been in," Jack said, looking down, as though reminding herself about each one's meaning. "Some are for kills, the more...memorable ones."

"The more fun ones," David translated, Jack glancing at him. "It's alright. You don't have to try and shy around it."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, some are for the more fun kills. Some are for...things I've lost. And some are because...hey, why the fuck not?"

David smiled, looking at her tattoos, trying to guess which was for what. As he did, however, his eyes widened slightly as he saw something else. Something he hadn't noticed before, which he was a bit ashamed he hadn't. Scars. circular ones with lines running from one to the next, spread over her entire torso. Jack seemed to realize what he was looking at, before she cleared her throat uncomfortably and seemed to close up a little, raising a hand to one on her arm that stood out more than most.

"Those are from the experiments I went through as a child," Jack said.

"Experiments?" David asked.

"Yeah," Jack said, then glanced from him to the datapads. "Oh. Right. Uh, I was held in a facility somewhere by Cerberus as a child, and they experimented on me almost constantly to try to increase my biotics. It worked, in the end, but the experiments were hell."

"I'm sorry," David said, staring at the datapads, in particular the one he had been reading before Horizon. "I..."

"I know," Jack said. "It's alright. I'm not looking for sympathy. It made me strong. Made me who I am. And soon, I'll make Cerberus pay."

David nodded, eyeing her scars again. "What's the one on your chest?" he pointed to a tattoo of a four-pointed star with skeletal fingers reaching out from under it between the points.

Jack glanced at it before smiling. "That was a painful one. I got it when I joined a cult."

"A cult?" David asked, eyebrows rising.

Jack nodded. "I know. Rules, right?"

"Yeah, you don't generally seem to like those," David said, Jack snorting.

"Well, I hit a dark place and went looking for answers," Jack said. "Drugs, and sex, and...going to a better place." She snorted derisively, glaring off to the side. "A better place...right."

David's face fell and he stared at his armor.

"Sorry," Jack said. "I didn't mean to..."

"It's alright," David said. "I understand that not everyone believes."

"What, you do?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," David nodded. "I just...I've never been able to look around at...everything. The stars, the people, the aliens, and not see..._something_. I don't believe that everything in the universe could have just...happened. Like...the Big Bang Theory, which has somehow never died out since before space flight. If _all_ the matter in the universe exploded against _all_ the antimatter, how was there somehow _more_ matter to create us?"

"Yeah, I never bought into that theory either," Jack said.

"I just...I always believed that there was _something_, you know?" David asked. "That maybe everything that I...maybe everything happened because it was supposed to."

Jack was silent for a while before nodding, picking up a datapad and staring at it. "Maybe."

David nodded and picked up his armor, able to see that Jack was done talking for a while.

* * *

"So, what do you want to hear about?" Jack asked. "Vandalism, piracy, or theft of a military spacecraft?"

"Vandalism," David decided.

"Excellent choice," Jack said. "I ran with a gang at the time, at least, for a little while. We made enemies. Eventually, someone screwed with us, and they screwed with us hard. We lost people. So, we decided to make them pay. Not every act of revenge is quick and easy. Sometimes you really have to work at it. So me and what few of us remained made a plan. We went to the space station the people who screwed us had, and we sabotaged it. Wasn't easy, and everyone else died doing it. But in the end, we got it. The station had its own engines, in case it needed to get away. So we set the station on a collision course with one of the Hanar home world's moons. I took a shuttle to get away and watched the station crash and explode. After the fact, I found out the Hanar called the damage to the moon vandalism. it was almost as funny as seeing the station explode."

"But you lost your entire gang," David said.

"No huge loss," Jack said. "They were using me anyway. Using me for a weapon, using me for cheap sex, skimming my profits. if we hadn't been screwed with when we did, I'd have repaid them soon anyway."

David nodded. "Can I...ask you something? Something you probably don't want to talk about?"

"Sure," Jack said. "No promises I'll answer it, though."

"What's...prison like?" David asked.

Jack watched him for a moment before sighing. "Shepard's not going to throw you in prison."

"I know," David said. "I just...I'm a bit curious."

Jack nodded. "Well, I suppose it depends on the prison. Never been to a small-time one. From what I've seen, the ones you go to for real crimes are pretty varied too. Sometimes you'll go and everyone will mostly keep to themselves. Sometimes everyone'll know who I am, and stay the fuck away from me. Sometimes they got it into their heads that they could kill me. Sometimes I was in solitary. There's some stuff that's always the same, of course. There's always a top bitch. Usually me. Smokes work as currency. The food sucks. Sex is pretty easy to come by, if you don't mind the gender. I never really cared, but I hear guys are usually pretty solidly against doing it with guys. Except as a domination thing. All the prisons I've been to, the new guys usually get fucked in the ass as a domination thing. Unless they beat the whole yard in a fight and prove themselves the biggest badass."

"I see," David said.

"And then...there was purgatory," Jack said. "Purgatory was...Everyone there was big time. Even compared to me. Everyone there was top bitch. Before I went to cryo, it was a daily struggle to look after myself. I...didn't always succeed."

"You mean…"

"I let my guard down taking a shower," Jack said. "Got jumped by seven guys at once. Guards _and_ prisoners. I split one's head open. Snapped another's spine. But I was slow, and I had messed up, so they got me. They got exactly what they wanted. For hours."

"Oh my god," David breathed, covering his mouth. "I'm so sorry."

"After, I got _them_, one by one," Jack said, fingers tracing several of the stripes running up her right arm like splints, similar tattoos decorating the outside of her left arm.

"I'm so sorry," David said again.

"Not your fault," Jack said. "I learned a valuable lesson from it. If you ever let your guard down, you're just making yourself weak. I never gave _anyone_ another chance."

David nodded and Jack sighed, holding a hand to her head.

"I think I'm all talked out for today," Jack said, lifting a datapad. "You need any help with your armor or anything?"

"No, I think I've got it," David said, lifting the piece he was working on. "It just needs a few minor tweaks, anyway. Read anything interesting recently?"

"Well, there was the report on Roman Lance," Jack said, watching him carefully as she spoke, seeing him freeze, then continue.

"I see," David said. "I've read it. It's a...very detailed report."

Jack watched him for another minute before returning to reading.

* * *

Jack watched interestedly as David pressed the glowing blue tube into a slot in his armor, then put the armor plating over it, welding it into place with his omni-tool. Then, he picked up a small metal collar-like object. It was thin, unclipped in the front to put on around his neck, and when he put it on and activated it, several pieces of metal extended from it, running up along the sides of his head up the cheeks to his temples before projecting a light blue tech barrier helmet. He hummed thoughtfully, then used his omni-tool to adjust it, turning it from a light blue to black, the barrier tinted to hide his face, as well as match his armor, but was little more than weak sunglasses to see out of.

"Facny," Jack said, nodding approvingly. "Man, Jentha really wasn't kidding when she said you were a fuckin' genius with tech."

"Thanks," David said, deactivating the device, the projectors collapsing back into the collar before he pulled it off, staring at the floor.

"Shit, sorry," Jack said.

"It's alright," David said. "I have to get over her eventually."

"I see," Jack nodded. "That's true. It's better that way. Caring about people just makes you weak. You're better off alone."

"I don't believe that," David said.

"Well, you better start," Jack said. "It's the truth."

"You've never had friends before?" David asked. "No one you cared about?"

Jack was silent for a moment before sighing. "When I was starting out, I ran with this girl Manara and her boyfriend. They knew their way around, I thought they'd help me. After a little while, I...got attached. They invited me into their bed, and they didn't outright insult or attack me. I misread the situation. When we finally took down something big, they helped themselves to my share of the take. They'd been skimming before that, but I just thought it was because I was just starting out, or because they were taking care of me. But after they took my share, they also started to distance themselves from me. I figured out where it was headed, so I got them first. I never really bothered with friends after that."

"I'm your friend," David said.

"No!" Jack said flatly. "I told you. I'm not looking for friends. I'm here to do a job, and to read these Cerberus files. Once this mission's over, I'm gone. Alone. I don't need anyone else. I don't need a friend. I'm better off alone."

"You think I'd betray you?" David asked, frowning. "You think I'd turn on you?"

"Everyone turns on each other eventually," Jack said. "Everyone looks out for themselves first. Even you would. Eventually. Someone would find something on you, or they'd pay you off, and you'd turn on me."

"No I wouldn't," David said. "I'm not like that. Neither was Jentha."

"You're just lucky she died before she could turn on _you_," Jack said. "You'll find out that I'm right, some day."

"I don't believe that," David said. "I believe that there are good people and bad. You've had a bad life, and you've met a lot of bad people. But I believe that there _are_ good people too. And I think you keep people at an arm's length to protect yourself from the pain of betrayal. But it only hurts because you want a friend. I think deep down you want to have a friend. You just don't want to admit it to yourself."

"Think what you want, but you're wrong," Jack said. "Lonely and alive works just fine for me. Thanks."

"Word choice can reveal things we don't want to accept," David said, finishing attaching the last armor plate to the last piece of his armor.

"Pick apart every little word if you want, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm perfectly fine being alone," Jack said. "I don't want friends, I don't need them, and we are not friends."

"Okay," David said, inspecting his armor. "Finished the armor."

"Really?" Jack asked. "What all did you do to it?"

"A few personalized upgrades, armor plating and bodysuit reinforced by energy shielding to help deflect projectiles and lasers, upgraded shield capacitors and projectors," David said. "Stronger materials."

"Impressive," Jack said, nodding, watching him. "It wasn't your fault, you know. Shit happens."

"I know," David said, picking up a datapad. "Found what you're looking for yet?"

"Not yet," Jack sighed. "Soon though, I hope."

David nodded and both began to read again.

* * *

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	8. Chapter 8

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

Distress

"The Omega symbol?" David asked.

"Because I _am_ the Omega," Jack snorted.

"The big red four-point star?" David asked.

"For a gang I took down," Jack said.

"Alright," David said. "Tell me about one I can't see."

Jack hummed thoughtfully for a moment before standing, unbuttoning her pants. She turned away before dropping them, exposing her bare ass and smirking back at him as he blushed and looked away. "Don't tell me you're a virgin."

"Of course not," David said. "It's just...you're..." his blush darkened and he trailed off.

Jack's smirk grew before she reached back, trailing her fingers over a bird just below her right cheek, a sparrow, David was pretty sure, flying downward. "This one was one I got young. One of the first times I escaped prison. There was a girl there who took a liking to me after I beat up someone who tried to corner me in the showers. When I broke out, I took her with me to repay a favor. She called me her 'Little Bird' because I couldn't stay caged. No matter how tight they sealed it, I'd always fly away. So I let her give me some ink to celebrate our freedom, then we fucked and split."

"So, she was your friend, for a little while," David said.

"No, she was hot, an easy lay, and we haven't had any contact since," Jack said. "Hardly a friend."

"And yet, you have a tattoo to remember her by," David said.

"I have a tattoo to remember each of the people that raped me by too, are _they_ my friends?" Jack asked, pulling her pants back on and buttoning them.

"No," David said. "They were important to your life in a different way."

Jack rolled her eyes. "Whatever you want to believe. It was just a tattoo, but if you want to believe it's because she was my friend, you go right ahead."

David smiled. "Maybe I will."

Jack rolled her eyes just as Shepard walked over, not looking happy.

"What's up?" David asked.

"We got a distress signal," Shepard said. "Project Overlord went south."

"I tried to warn you," David said.

"Yes you did," Shepard nodded. "And now you're coming with us. EDI is expecting a lot of tech."

"You're sure?" David asked, nervously. "I...After Horizon, I didn't think you'd trust me again."

"I don't," Shepard said. "That's why Jack's coming too. She can take care of herself, so I'll at least have one useful team member if you fold like on Horizon."

"Lay off, Shepard," Jack said. "He'll do fine. Horizon only happened because his girl died. He'll be fine this time."

Shepard grunted and turned, walking away. Jack turned to David, who was collecting his armor, and set a hand on his shoulder.

"You got this," Jack said. "Let's go fuck 'em up."

David smiled slightly and nodded. They headed to the armory, David putting his armor on quickly then grabbing a pistol and SMG, then headed to the shuttle bay with Jack. Instead of a shuttle, they took a Hammerhead tank, flying it to the ground and landing lightly before getting out and heading toward the facility.

"Thank God you came!" a voice said over their comms almost instantly. "My name is Doctor Gavin Archer. The situation is urgent. We're facing a catastrophic VI breakout! I'll explain the details later, but you must retract that transmission disk. The control aren't far from your position. You have to hurry!"

They headed inside and looked around. The station was trashed. There was plasma scoring on the walls here and there, overturned furniture lying in some places, and a fire actively burning in one corner. They entered the main room at the top of the stairs, with windows in front of them to observe the rest of the room. They turned left and headed down the stairs, which turned right halfway down, then walked over to where a monitor was on one of the desks across the room from them, someone, likely Gavin Archer, calling out to them.

"Ah, there you are," Archer said. "I've locked myself in a computer room on the far side of the base. There are Geth on the loose. A rogue VI program has seized control and...I've lost a lot of friends today. I'd hate to see you join them."

"Yeah, he sounds _real_ broken up about it," Jack muttered.

"Gavin Archer was the lead researcher on the project," David muttered back. "The mentally handicapped person they were trying to combine with a VI was his brother. That's probably the VI that went rogue, too. They might have made an AI."

"Great," Jack said. "Fucking Cerberus."

Shepard was walking away, so they followed. In the next room, Shepard retracted the dish, but it stopped partway down as the orange screen overhead turned into green squares, some sticking out slightly to make a strip of face across the eyes, the squares making up the eyes white. Then, the VI began to shout at them.

"Did you...here that?" David asked.

"Hear what?" Jack asked.

"It...I think it said..." David stared at the eyes. "It said, 'Quiet. Please. Make it stop.'"

"Are you sure?" Jack asked.

"No," David said.

"It doesn't matter," Shepard said, Archer having given him directions to stop the VI by breaking the dish, directing them to a tram on a lower level. "We need to stop the VI."

David nodded and they followed Shepard into a stairway. The VI again appeared on an overhead screen, but its scream this time was completely broken and unintelligible. The one as they stepped into the next room, however, was even more clear than the first.

"Fuck," Jack said. "I think you're right."

"What the hell did these people do?" Shepard asked.

"Give me a second," David said, walking to a console the VI was not currently hacked into. He scanned it and files began to flash on a screen that appeared over it. However, after a minute, he closed out of it and shook his head. "This isn't the main facility. It's just a comms station. The project data is at another facility, as is the hardware for the VI."

Shepard and Jack nodded, the three of them continuing through the facility. A couple rooms later, they found a handful of Geth. Two basic troopers on the lower level with a Destroyer and a rocket trooper upstairs. Jack dropped one of the troopers with her pistol, and Shepard took out the other with his rifle. As they were, David used his left hand's omni-tool to remotely overload the rocket trooper's shield and his right to overload the Destroyer's. Then, when the Rocket Trooper stood, he dropped it quickly, Jack and Shepard working together to take down the Destroyer.

"Not bad," Jack said. "You really _are_ good with tech."

"Thanks," David said sheepishly.

"We should expect a lot more Geth on the dish," Shepard said, giving David and accusing look. "Can you handle it?"

"Yes," David said meekly, shrinking back from Shepard's glare and flickering.

"It'll be alright," Jack said. "Trashing machines is easy."

As they moved forward, down the T-shaped stairs they were on toward the conference-room-looking area they had to head through, more Geth began to appear. This time, one of them stepped out and fired several shots into David's shield as a greeting. David shrieked in surprise, winking out of view and allowing several shots to pass through where he'd been before Shepard dropped that Geth. More began to enter through the door, so he and Jack both ducked into cover. However, when they stood to fight again, a Destroyer suddenly turned, hosing another Geth with its flamethrower, almost instantly roasting its circuits and killing it, then another. The remaining four Geth Troopers began to shoot it, but Jack and Shepard dropped them quickly. The Destroyer turned to them, but David appeared in front of it, driving an omni-blade into its face and shoving its gun to the side in case it shot. It collapsed to the ground and David looked back at the others.

"Sorry, it took me a minute to hack it," David said.

"It...took you like ten seconds," Jack said. "Damn. If I'd had you on that station, we probably could have done the job from the hangar."

David smiled slightly, as Shepard frowned.

"Station?" Shepard asked.

"It doesn't matter," David said. "Let's go stop the VI from escaping."

Shepard nodded and they quickly continued. Twenty minutes, a brief tram ride, and a short shootout on a catwalk later, they were in the base of the satellite dish, hunkered down at the foot of a pair of stairs as a Geth Prime sprayed super-heated plasma at them. it had even managed to pin David down.

"Now would be a great time to hack that thing!" Shepard shouted over the gunfire.

"The VI's resisting it!" David said. "If I try again, it'll probably hack into my omni-tool!"

He leaned out as the rounds moved away from him and launched a ball of electrically charged particles at it, then ducked back as it began to fire at him again. He heard the blast hit and the shooting stopped, so David winked out of sight as Shepard and Jack both opened fire on the Prime. After a moment, however, it began to shoot at them again. They both ducked back down just before David reached it, slashing it across the abdomen then up the front and out the eye, finally killing it.

"Fuck yeah!" Jack cheered. "That's more like it!"

They all hurried up to the inside of the dish and Archer directed them to the energy capacitors for the support struts. They broke the first easily, but the moment they did, the VI screamed at them as the support strut collapsed, destroying a part of the dish. Geth began to march onto the dish between them and the next strut, and they began to fight, David flickering and vanishing constantly, but not trying to sneak around. They were all wither Geth Troopers or Rocket Troopers, so all of them went down quickly. Jack grinned as the three of them quickly headed for the next strut.

"You see, David?" Jack asked. "Isn't it more fun when you just charge in head first?"

"No!" David said, voice high and pinched. "This is terrible!"

Just then, several shots slammed into the back of his shield and he spun, launching a ball of electricity that instantly fried that Geth's circuits, then continued with the other two.

"Well, you're doing good," Jack said. "So keep it up!"

She sent out a shockwave, the explosions hurling a dozen Geth aside like they were weightless. Some crashed into the dish higher up and rolled back down, other fell down the stairs. Other crashed down around where they'd been thrown from. However, the distraction was perfect, and they quickly cleaned up the last of the Geth around the next strut, reaching it in seconds, Shepard destroying it.

As the strut came crashing down, a Geth Prime arrived and David hurled a ball of electricity at it before winking out of sight, beginning to circle as he continued to fire. Shepard and Jack both took cover behind one of the pipes sticking out of the dish, firing when they could, alternating between targeting the Geth Prime and the lower-class Geth around it, as was David.

Finally, he turned to the Prime just as Jack sent a Warp into its chest, making it stagger backward. Davie fired an omni-bow at it, the bolt stabbing into its side just before electricity exploded out of it, frying the Geth Prime, which collapsed in a spasming heap. Jack and Shepard quickly ran over and they headed to the last strut, destroying it.

"Uh, Shepard?" David said, Shepard looking at him. "I hate to state the obvious, but...the support struts are the only thing keeping it from collapsing."

Shepard's eyes widened before he swore, all of them turning and sprinting toward the edge of the dish. Shepard reached it first, leaping across the gap and landing in a roll. A half second behind him, David landed a little better than him, thanks to being lighter. Jack, however, jumped just as the panel gave way and fell short. David shouted in fear and shot forward, dropping to the ground and catching her hand, her other one grabbing the back of his as his free hand clung to the grated floor.

"Don't you dare drop me, fucker!" Jack shouted.

"You're heavy!" David said through gritted teeth, his below-average physical strength straining just to hold her up, let alone lift her.

"Pull me up!" Jack shouted.

"I'm trying!" David said.

"Oh, when we get back, you are _so_ training with Jacob!" Jack snarled.

Finally, Shepard got over his own disorientation enough to grab David by the back of his armor and haul him away from the edge, Jack grabbing the edge as soon as it was within reach and scrambling up, collapsing onto her back and trying to catch her breath.

"Thanks boss man," Jack said. "I just...need a second."

"I'm sorry," David said.

"For what?" Jack snorted. "Catching me?"

"I couldn't pull you up," David said.

"Pipsqueak, I'm shocked you had the strength to hold me up as long as you did," Jack said. "Thanks for the save."

David smiled and nodded, pushing himself up and offering Jack his hand, Jack accepting his help up.

"Over here!" Archer shouted, running into view through the smoke.

"What the hell is going on around here?" Shepard demanded.

"Man's reach exceeding his grasp," Archer said. "Come on. I'll explain."

He turned, leading them back into the facility.

* * *

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	9. Chapter 9

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

Overlord

David groaned, resting his face in his hands. Two facilities down. The main facility had been locked, so they had to go to Vulcan Station, a volcanic processing station, and Prometheus Station, a crashed Geth ship, to unlock it. Vulcan Station wasn't bad. Security drones and mechs hacked by the VI, which David was now absolutely certain was asking them to be quiet and make something stop. Prometheus Station, on the other hand, had been safe on the way in, then was a nightmare to get out of when the VI woke up the dozens of Geth stored there. He was glad he'd upgraded his shields, because a pair of Geth Troopers had tested them. Fortunately, they held just long enough for David to find cover.

"You okay?" Jack asked.

"Exhausted," David said. "And I have a headache from the gunfire."

"You'll be fine," Jack said. "At least now you know you need to make your fancy new helmet filter out gunfire."

"True," David sighed. "Are we almost there?"

"Just arrived," Shepard said, just as he slowed the Hammerhead to a stop outside the facility. "Let's go see what the true face of Project Overlord looks like, shall we?"

They all climbed out and headed into the facility quickly. The station was trashed. And mixed up. They found a vending machine across from the door that played an audio log of Archer talking about his autistic brother's mathematical genius when David walked by it. Then in the hallway after that door, there was a door to the front that was locked, and one to the right that was unlocked. Except, when they tried to open the door to the right, the one to the front opened instead. The door opened into a dark hallway, but the lights came on a moment later, revealing blood, corpses, and bullet holes. It had been a massacre. The turned left at the first corner, right at another, and headed down a set of steps before three doors ahead of them closed, sealing the hallway before the closest, and a door on either side began to play musical lock with all three flashing green, orange, and red for several seconds. Finally, all three door panels closed and the door to the left opened.

As they walked in, an audio log began to play. "Unless he sees results, the Illusive Man is shutting us down next week. I have no choice. I'm going to tap David directly into the Geth neural network and see if he can influence them. The danger should be negligible. David might even enjoy it."

David shouted in anger, swiping the computer the audio log had come from off the table and sent it crashing into a wall. Jack and Shepard both stared at him.

"What?" Shepard asked.

"That mother fucker used his brother as a lab rat!" David snarled. "The state David must be in..."

"This is Cerberus," Jack said. "That's how they operate. They don't care about anyone or anything. This shouldn't come as a surprise."

"We're shutting this place down," Shepard said. "But you need to keep your head until then."

David nodded.

"I say let the guy blow off a little steam," Jack said. "It might be entertaining to watch a feisty little mouse running around nipping at the Geth's heels."

"Fuck off!" David grumbled.

"Oh, I like him like this," Jack grinned. "We should piss him off more often."

David sighed, rolling his eyes and walked to the elevator controls, summoning it to level seven, only for the speaker to announce it stopped on Level two. The next time he summoned it, it hit level four. Then level six. He summoned it again, but it announced a malfunction and the elevator dropped back to the sublevel.

"Great," David sighed. "Now what?"

"Uh, this computer has elevator controls on it too," Jack said from an island counter off to the side, pressing a button on a laptop.

"Resetting elevator," the PA system announced.

David blinked twice, staring at it before looking around. "Is there another one?"

"Up here," Shepard announced from the top of a short flight of stairs they'd gone down to reach the elevator.

"Arriving at Level Three," the PA system announced.

"Perfect," David said, summoning the elevator twice from the main controls, getting levels five and seven this time. However, the moment it arrived, sparks began to fly from the top of the elevator door, travelling downward quickly. "Fuck."

He winked out of sight and Jack sprinted up the stairs to take cover with Shepard. Then, the doors opened and two cloaked Hunters walked out, followed by a Prime, which drew all of the other two's fire. David fired an electrified omni-bow into one of the two Hunters' back, killing it, then turned and ran out of the way of the Prime's gunfire as it shot where the shot came from. As David ran, he overloaded the other Hunter's shield and cloaking tech just as it rounded the corner to shoot at Jack. However, Jack was faster and her shotgun blasted a hole in its torso, launching it into the wall. The Prime turned back to Shepard and Jack as David, now in cover behind a table, became visible again, all three opening fire on the thing, killing it in a few moments.

They walked into the elevator and got in, activating it and telling it to go to the first floor. Instead, they stopped at six, then rose back to seven.

"Quiet, please! Make it stop!" the VI shrieked deafeningly.

They dropped to level four, then sank to three, an alarm screaming at them all the while and smoke rising up through the grated floor. Then, they began to rise slowly. David looked to both of the others and they all shared a knowing expression.

"This is going to be bad," Jack said.

They shot upward to floor seven suddenly, only for the elevator to practically drop out from underneath them. They crashed down on level one, the elevator locks holding it there, and all slowly began to scrape themselves up. Once they were on their feet again, Shepard opened the door and sore, David instantly vanishing. There were a handful of Geth connected to a machine in front of them, but the Geth didn't move. There were more off to the side, but they were equally inactive.

"What are they doing?" Jack asked.

"I don't know," David said, scanning one with his omni-tool. "Oh, that'll be helpful for my shields. I think they're all networked. Like, they're thinking, or resting maybe." He frowned. "Wait. There's a data package that doesn't belong."

"I'd be lying if I said no harm could come to David," Archer's voice said from the black machine the in front of the elevator. "His autistic mind is as alien to me as an actual alien. Anything could happen when we plug him in. But I have to try, don't I?"

David swallowed hard. "He didn't. Please tell me he doesn't mean that literally."

"He probably does," Jack said. "That's just who Cerberus is."

David swallowed hard and nodded. "Yeah. I guess so."

"You need to learn to use your anger," Jack said. "Take all the fucked up shit you've seen, every bit of pain you've been through, and let it harden you. Let it make you more powerful."

David didn't answer, instead walking over to the hallway they had to take and following it to the door at the end, Shepard and Jack joining him just as a second door control panel appeared up and to the left of the door's control panel. Then the door's faded and another appeared, then another, one always fading before one appeared, forming a trail all the way over to the door on the left, which opened once it had the only control panel. Inside, there was a table with the VI's server controls on it. Shepard glanced at David, and David walked over, hand hovering over the shut-down button.

"Careful," Shepard said. "I wouldn't be surprised if that button summoned a Reaper."

David nodded and pressed the button. Then, the VI's green face appeared over the table, screaming at them as streams of green data flooded into David's omni-tool. His entire body burned, and his eyes itched. The burn faded to a tingle and suddenly everything, to include his arms, had an orange grid projected onto it, like in a training simulation against holograms. However, as he turned around, the grid turned into orange circuit boards and Jack and Shepard were suddenly two-dimensional holograms. He staggered forward, collapsing in the hallway just as the door closed and sealed. He groaned, holding a hand to his head as more holograms passed, Archer, along with two other men. The headache finally faded and he pushed himself up, groaning and following the hallway to the door, which opened for him just fine this time.

"Jack, Shepard, can you hear me?" David asked. "EDI? Anyone? If you can hear me, I think I'm...linked to the VI. I'll try to follow the data to it and shut it down."

He followed the hallway to an intersection where the far side of the hallway was all windows, and suddenly the VI's head appeared. Except, this time, there was no distortion.

"Quiet!" The VI pleaded. "Please! Make it stop!"

"David?" David asked. "David Archer?"

"Please! Make it stop!"

He sighed, turning around the corner and saw a lone Geth standing in the hallway. He shot it with an electrified shot from his omni-bow and it exploded into green squares, which faded as they scattered. He frowned, lowering his arm, only to duck into cover again as two more Geth Troopers arrived. He flickered rapidly, but he swallowed hard, drawing his pistol. he couldn't be a coward anymore. He had to learn to fight for himself. He had failed Jentha because he was a coward, and she died. He failed Shepard because he was a coward, and Shepard nearly died fighting an army of Collectors, and a giant machine thing, alone. He nearly failed Jack and dropped her because a life as a coward had left him too weak to pull her up. He couldn't be a coward anymore.

He activated his blue Tech Armor and carefully leaned out between bursts of the Geth's gunfire, shooting back. His shots slammed into them, since they didn't use cover, and after a few seconds, they had both also exploded into clouds of green squares. He sighed, calming himself, then gripped his pistol with both hands walking forward, trying to imitate Shepard's way of gliding around a battlefield, finding partial success. He followed the hallway to the end, where the circuit boards he was seeing parted to reveal a door, and when he opened it, holograms had formed Archer and a man David instantly understood was Archer's brother, David Archer. A Geth was strapped to a medical table beside which stood Gavin Archer, David sitting on the floor beside him. There were several waist-high tables around the room as well, and the room was dominated by green circuit boards rather than orange.

"Square root of nine-hundred-six point oh one is thirty point one," David Archer said quickly. "Square root of nine-hundred-twelve point oh four is thirty point two."

"Time on this project is running out," Gavin Archer said. "There are no options left. How to get the Geth's attention?"

The Geth spoke in its beeping language. Then, David Archer did something that amazed David. He stood, and mimicked the language back at the Geth. The Geth said something else, and David Archer turned to his brother.

"The robot says hello," David Archer said.

"Eureka!" Gavin Archer said. "David, you're a miracle worker!"

The holograms faded and the distorted sound of the VI's voice sounded, too garbled and broken to understand, as the green walls and floor of the room turned orange. David walked over to the sphere of light and reached out to it. As soon as his hand touched it, the light vanished and another holographic memory began to play, the walls and floor once again turning green.

"David, I want you to order the Geth to take a step forward," Gavin instructed his brother as the two of them, plus one lab technician and an assistant, stood around a Geth held off the floor by a magnet harness.

David Archer did as instructed, and the Geth followed his instructions.

"How does he do it?" the lab tech asked.

"David is a mathematical savant," Gavin explained. "His autistic mind can interpret the Geth language at it's most basic form and mimic their phonetics. With his photographic memory, cross-referencing the meaning is a snap. He's literally a human computer."

"And you think he can interface with the Geth's neural network?" the lab tech asked.

"I do," Gavin nodded.

"Is it even safe, Doctor?" the assistant asked.

"I see no harm in finding out," Gavin said.

The memory ended, and again, the VI's corrupted voice sounded and the circuit boards retook their orange shade as a ball of light appeared across the room. Shepard walked over to it and activated the memory, the room once again turning colors as holograms appeared.

"Square root of nine-hundred-six point oh one is thirty point one," David Archer said quickly, now standing behind his older brother as his brother read a tablet beside one of the desks. "Square root of nine-hundred-twelve point oh four is thirty point two."

"David, can you repeat my notes from Thursday's experiment?" Gavin Archer asked his brother.

"Square root of nine-hundred-eighteen point oh nine is thirty point three," David Archer said.

"David!" Gavin snapped irritably. "Please pay attention!"

"Loud!" David Archer said, holding a hand to his head. "It's getting loud in here."

"I'm sorry," Gavin said. "You didn't deserve that. Would you mind repeating my notes from Thursday's experiment?"

"Log one-thirty-seven point three," David Archer began. "The experiment yielded no discernable pattern for Geth obedience. End dictation now, David. Hell, the Illusive Man will have my head for this."

"Thank you," Gavin said. "And how are you feeling today?"

"Square root of nine-hundred-twenty-four point sixteen is thirty point four. Earplugs would be good," David Archer said.

As the memory ended, the VI said something, more calmly and quietly than before, and the room retook its orange hue. He turned, seeing several Geth connected to a machine on the other side of an open window, and he quickly walked over, killing all three with an omni-blade while they were inactive, then turned, walking into the hallway, David Archer's virtual face appearing outside the window again.

"Quiet! Please! Make it stop!"

Down the hall to the right was a locked door with a ball of white light connected to the wall beside it, a green tube running from it to the ceiling. David scanned it, finding it was a connection for the VI to control the door, and somehow knowing he could destroy it by shooting it, thus gaining control of the door. So, he did. After a couple shots, the door opened and the ball of light faded. He walked into the room and found an elevator leading to the VI's core. He summoned it, and an alert warned him that it was overweight. Something began to cut the elevator doors, which were in the floor this time, open, and David quickly took cover. After a moment, the door opened and a Hunter and two Rocket Troopers rose out of it on the elevator. He greeted them with a blast of electrically charged particles and took down all three's shields before opening fire, quickly dropping the Rocket Troops before shooting the Hunter with his omni-bow. He walked over, taking the lift down to the VI's core and found a memory playing in the otherwise green room.

"Square root of nine-hundred-six point oh one is thirty point one," David Archer said from somewhere, though David didn't think either of the blurry holograms before him were David Archer. He sounded terrified, though. "Square route of nine-hundred-twelve point oh four is thirty point two."

"We're ready," Gavin Archer said. "Open a connection to the Geth network."

David Archer's virtual face appeared over the massive black sphere that was the VI's core. "Quiet!"

Several holographic Geth appeared, aiming at Gavin Archer and his assistant.

"David, no!" Gavin Archer shouted. "Tell the Geth to stand down!"

"Quiet!" David Archer pleaded. "Please make it stop!"

The memory ended, the room taking its orange lighting, and the sphere began to glow orange around the outside, square green shields appearing around it and spinning.

"Node acquired," a synthetic female voice announced. "Normandy SR Two is within range. Attempting to establish upload link."

David shouted in surprise and fear as a transparent orange tube appeared over him from the sphere to one of the four pillars around the room, a ball of white-green light slowly creeping along it. He quickly shot it until it exploded and the shields around the sphere went with it. He swallowed hard and opened fire on the sphere. He didn't have another option. The VI, David Archer or not, could _not_ get free.

"I'm sorry, David!" David said, using his left hand to fire an electrified shot from his omni-bow, the electricity being met with a scream of pain from David Archer.

Suddenly, the shields returned and the room turned green, the sound of a memory playing without the holograms.

"Pull the plug!" Gavin Archer's voice shouted. "Tell Vulcan Station to cut all power!"

"It's too late!" a second voice said. "We've lost all control!"

The room turned orange again as the VI began to try to upload itself tot he Normandy again. David turned to deal with the ball of light, again, only for several Geth to appear off to the side. He spun, opening fire and stepping around behind a pillar. He saw the ball of light off to the side and shot it until it exploded, but the upload didn't stop. He leaned out, seeing another one, but being forced to duck back in by the Geth. He sighed, turning invisible and stepping out, then launched a ball of electricity after he was out, shooting the two Geth that survived the blast. He swapped thermal clips and shot the ball of light, again destroying the VI core's shields. Again he began to shoot it. And again, David Archer screamed in pain and fear. David grit his teeth, feeling his eyes water in sympathy and guilt. After a moment, the room turned green again as another memory began to play.

"David!" Gavin shouted. "You have to stop this!"

"DAVID DOESN'T WANT TO BE HERE!" David's half-synthetic voice responded.

The room turned colors again and Geth began to appear rapidly. David dropped them as fast as he could, shooting the now three balls of light when he could. Finally, the shields shattered, the remaining Geth exploding, and David swung his omni-bow around, gritting his teeth as he fired another electrified shot into the sphere. This time, once the scream of agony had ended, David's virtual face appeared over it.

"QUIET! PLEASE! MAKE IT STOP!" The face dissolved into a ball of shifting green squares and dropped into the core before there was a burst of light and sound, the virtual overlay David had been seeing fading.

What it left behind was so much worse. David Archer was suspended over a pit in some kind of machine. He wore no clothes, had a metal ring around his hips and chest to hold him up in a crucifixion position, had a metal neck brace keeping his head up and immobile, had four short metal rods driven through each of his forearms and one through each hand, all ten rods connected to what looked like a power cable, had a pair of massive metal tubes, each at least two inches wide, driven into his mouth and likely down his throat and windpipe, had metal claps holding his eyes open permanently, and had a pair of circular rings of metal, like a sort of double halo, around his head with metal tubes connecting them, then drills extending from the inner ring into his skull. The skin around his eyes, around a pair of metal fingers reaching from his neck brace to the eyelid clamps, and around the brace itself was all dark and irritated, and tears were rolling down his cheeks.

"Quiet, please make it stop," a synthetic voice said for David Archer.

David fell to his knees, tears falling down his cheeks as he stared at the monstrous sight before him. "I swear to you, they will never hurt you again."

"Wait!" Gavin Archer said, running into the room, Shepard and Jack just behind him, though both stopped to stare in abject horror at what they saw. "Commander! I'm begging you, don't do anything rash!" Gavin turned to Shepard, only for David to grab him by the front of his uniform.

"HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT _US_ DOING SOMETHING RASH WHEN _YOU_ DID _THAT_ TO YOUR OWN BROTHER! ? !" David exploded.

"I-I know how this must look, but I never intended any harm to come to him!" Gavin tried to defend himself. "You must believe me!"

"THERE ARE SPIKES DRIVEN _THROUGH HIS ARMS_! ! !" David seethed. "HE HAS _TWO_ TUBES SHOVED DOWN HIS THROAT! ! !"

"It was an accident!" Gavin made the mistake of saying.

"AN _ACCIDENT! ?_ _!_" David exploded, drilling his fist into Gavin's jaw, sending him sprawling to the ground before hauling him back to his feet, pinning him to a support beam. "YOU CALL HOOKING YOUR BROTHER UP TO A MACHINE THAT INVOLVES CAREFULLY FEEDING TWO TUBES DOWN HIS THROAT, DRIVING _TEN _SPIKES THROUGH HIS ARMS, CLAMPING HIS EYES OPEN, AND THEN SUSPENDING HIM OVER A HOLE WHILE YOU JACK HIS BRAIN INTO A VI AN ACCIDENT! ? !"

"That's enough, David!" Shepard snapped.

"David?" Gavin blinked.

"Yeah," David snarled, dropping Gavin into a heap on the floor. "I'm David, too."

David stormed away from Shepard, getting to work on a computer to try and figure out how to release David Archer without any further pain.

"How the hell did this happen?" Shepard asked Gavin.

"Seeing David interact with the Geth...it all seemed harmless," Gavin said.

"And before you know it, you were running your own private Hell," Shepard said.

"I had no choice!" Gavin snapped, standing. "The demands were incredible! The Illusive Man doesn't broker failure!"

A biotic throw crashed into Gavin's chest, hurling him backward into the pillar again.

"You son of a bitch!" Jack spat from beside David. "Congratulations. Your fucked up little experiment just took the place as the single most fucked up thing I've ever seen! And I have seen some fucking _horrible_ shit!"

"We're taking your brother with us," Shepard said. "We'll find him somewhere he can be safe, somewhere he can recover, and where he'll _never_ have to see your face again."

"No!" Gavin said. "Please! I understand the experiment was unethical! But please! Let me take care of him!"

"This is not open for debate!" Shepard spat. "You're lucky I don't let my friend punish you for what you've done here and now!"

"Oh, I already uploaded all of the information on Project Overlord and what Gavin Archer did to his brother to Alliance Command, and the council," David said over his shoulder. "You're going to get what's coming to you, Archer."

Gavin's eyes widened and he sank to the floor, sitting back against the pillar. "So that's it, then."

"Yeah," David snarled. "That's it."

"Are you okay?" Jack whispered.

"You read about...Roman Lance's experiment?" David asked.

"Yeah," Jack said. "_Are_ you okay?"

David stared at the computer screen for a moment. "No."

Finally, he found the process for safely removing David Archer, but there was no chance of not hurting him. The drills in his skull would hurt. The spikes would hurt. The tubes would be torture and possibly do even more damage. It was going to be horrible.

"Where will you take him?" Gavin asked.

"None of your fucking business!" David snapped. "Far away from you. That's all you need to know."

He activated the release sequence and a ramp extended up to David, since everything would have to be removed manually. He walked up it and stopped in front of David Archer.

"This is going to hurt, but once I'm done, we can get you somewhere that can help you," David said. "Please bear with me."

"Square root of nine-hundred-six point oh one is-"

"Thirty point one," David finished.

"Thank you, David Two," David Archer said.

David nodded and began to release David, David screaming in pain with each spike and drill. And the tubes were worse, because he couldn't scream. Then, finally, it was finished. Shepard helped David carry their rescued patient up to the Hammerhead, then flew back tot he Normandy.

* * *

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	10. Chapter 10

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

Banking Trouble

David rolled onto his side, bloody images flooding his mind. Tubes, wires, hooks, blades, straps, chains. Agony. Fear. Finally, he sat up, screaming in fear, only to silence himself, looking around. Jack was kneeling beside him, and once he was sitting up, she set a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, it was a nightmare," Jack said. "You're alright."

"Yeah," David said. "Nightmare. Yeah." He wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Sorry."

"It's alright," Jack said. "Do you...want to talk about it? I mean...was it about..."

"Yeah," David said. "It was."

"Can you tell me about it?" Jack asked. "You don't have to be specific, but I'm curious."

David sighed. "Okay. Sure. You've talked about everything I've wanted to know. Sure. I'll tell you."

* * *

David finished placing the last piece on his rifle, finally finishing. He smiled. It was lighter than he'd hoped, thanks to him asking EDI about getting extra light materials for it, and it didn't require thermal clips to function. Neither the other weapons he'd been tinkering with. His and Kasumi's Locusts, which she'd grabbed when she and Shepard went to steal her former partner and lover's graybox back from a rich thief who murdered said partner, Jack's pistol and shotgun, Shepard's Avenger, and Garrus's Vindicator.

"Finally finished," David smiled, putting everything back in the locker with a colorful tag for all the updated weapons that weren't his, each tag with a name on it.

Once he was done, he headed back down the Engineering. However, just as he stepped off the elevator, Jacob crossed his arms, standing in front of him. David groaned, resting his face in his hands.

"You ready to train?" Jacob asked.

"No," David groaned miserably.

"Well that's too bad," Jacob said. "You need to get stronger. Next time you catch someone who's falling off a cliff, Shepard might not be there to pull you back up. Would you be able to save them?"

"Maybe," David said.

"And that is exactly why you're coming to work out with me," Jacob said. "You'll be working out with me until that maybe is a yes."

David groaned again, then nodded. He followed Jacob up to the armory and Jacob pulled his shirt off, having David do the same. Then, he began to put him through his paces. After about ten minutes, David's entire body was soaked with sweat and he felt like he might collapse at any moment. And Jacob promised the workout still had another two hours and fifty minutes. David simply groaned miserably and continued to put himself through Hell.

* * *

"David, Jack, Shepard's asking you to meet him on Illium," Joker said over the PA system. "He says it's urgent."

Both hurried to the armory, David quickly slipping his armor on, then grabbing his new rifle and Locust, along with his pistol, and Jack grabbed her upgraded shotgun and pistol. They hurried to the airlock and EDI told them to get a cab and told them where to have it take them, apparently Liara T'Soni's apartment.

"Wasn't Liara T'Soni a part of Shepard's crew when he fought Saren?" David asked.

"That is correct," EDI said as they hurried to the rapid transit. "She is also in an intimate relationship with Commander Shepard's sister, Jane Shepard, also a Commander in the Alliance."

"Wait, there are _two_ Commander Shepards?" David asked.

"That is correct," EDI confirmed.

"Oh, I am _so_ calling him Jane, now," Jack grinned.

They finally reached the rapid transit controls and David hailed a cab. As soon as it arrived, he gave the Asari driver the address and the driver pulled away from the transit station. David tried to call Shepard on his omni-tool, and after a moment, Shepard answered.

"We're in a cab on the way over," David said.

"Be careful," Shepard said. "Someone tried to assassinate Liara, so don't assume you're safe."

"Understood," David said. "We'll be careful."

The driver glanced at them worriedly but David assured her she was safe. A few minutes later, they landed outside the apartment and David and Jack headed inside, finding Shepard spearing with another Asari, this one with purple pigmentations around her eyes, blue and white armor, and a white Spectre emblem on her right pauldron.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm David," David said. "This is Jack."

"They're with me," Shepard said. "David, we think Liara left something for me. Think you can find it?"

"Probably," David nodded, creating a drone, which began to shine rays of light around the two-story apartment as it slowly rose into the air, scanning the entire room in seconds. "There's a picture frame upstairs with a surprising amount of tech inside of it."

"How do you know that?" the Asari asked as the drone faded.

"He's a genius with tech," Shepard said. "By the way, thanks for the rifle upgrades."

David nodded, glancing at the Asari. "What do we call you?"

"Tela Vasir," the Asari said. "Special Tactics and Recon, much like your Commander."

"That remains to be seen," David said, walking up the stairs, Shepard and Jack following as Vasir glared after him. At the top of the stairs, he looked around before seeing a picture by the bed. "There. The picture of the Normandy."

Shepard walked over and picked it up, but as soon as he did, the picture changed from the Normandy to a landscape with some kind of tower in the background. "It changed."

"It's synced to your DNA," David said. "Where is that?"

"It's a Prothean dig site," Shepard said.

"Well, there's no shortage of Prothean artifacts here," David said.

Shepard nodded, beginning to walk from one to the next. Finally, he found one by the base of the stairs that opened a small tray when he touched the barrier around it. Inside was a backup disk for a computer.

"Vasir, I've got something here," Shepard said, showing her.

"Backup disk?" Vasir asked. "Let's try it on her computer."

Shepard nodded and walked over to the computer putting it in. A Salarian appeared on the screen.

"It looks like she recorded a call," Vasir said.

"What have you got for me, Sekat?" a feminine voice, obviously belonging to Liara, asked.

"It was tricky, but you paid for the best," Sekat said. "I can narrow it down to a cluster, maybe even a system."

"How soon can you have it?" Liara asked.

"Shouldn't take long," Sekat said. "Come to my office. Baria Frontiers in the Dracon Trade Center. Gotta say though, T'Soni, you're making me a little nervous. How big is the trouble that could come out of this?"

"Relax Sekat, I'll see you in a few hours," Liara promised.

"This must be important," Shepard said. "The Shadow Broker's people already tried to kill her once."

"I know where the Dracon Trade Center is," Vasir said. "My car's outside."

"Let's go," Shepard said, all four heading out to the car.

A few minutes, and a long, quiet car ride, later, they landed in front of the trade center. They walked toward it, David flickering, eyes darting around nervously.

"Relax," Jack smiled. "Everything's going to be fine. Quick in and out."

"I don't hear any police chatter," Vasir was saying. "We must have missed the party."

An explosion rocked the ground from the building's third floor, nearly throwing David, who's legs were still sore and trembling from Jacob's tortuous training regimen, to the ground.

"Liara's in there!" Shepard shouted, just before the two floors below the first bombing also exploded, this time hurling everyone.

"They just took out three floors to make sure she's dead!" Vasir said as they were all scraping themselves up off the ground. "I'll grab the skycar and seal off the building from the top."

"I'll start down here and work my way up!" Shepard responded.

"Just leave some for me," Vasir said, flying away.

"We shouldn't go in there," David said. "They'll be shooting anyone who survived."

"Which is exactly why we're going in," Shepard said, starting forward.

"Come on, Pipsqueak!" Jack called back at him. "Don't get shown up by a girl."

"You're a freakishly powerful biotic!" David argued, following reluctantly. "Losing to you is a given!"

Jack laughed, and David sighed, drawing his rifle. "I've been meaning to ask, what kind of rifle is that? It kind of looks like an old Mattock, but the top rail's a little too long."

"It's a Cerberus prototype," David said. "It's basically a full-auto Mattock, though it can be fired in semi-auto as well. I swapped out the parts for light-weight materials, and made it function without thermal clips."

"So _that's_ what you've been working on all this time," Jack grinned. "Not bad. Can you use it?"

"I _really_ hope I don't have to," David said.

They made their way through the destroyed building quickly. The power was out, and according to David's scans, the security system had been down before, which meant no alarm went out. The explosion would still draw cops, but not for a _very_ long time. They took a flight of stairs at the back right corner of the main room, and at the top of it, they found a dozen or so corpses. However, some of them weren't killed from the blast. They were shot.

"I told you so!" David hissed.

"Hush," Shepard said, just finishing warning Vasir. "Keep your eyes open if you don't want to end up like him."

David nodded, flickering again, and they headed to a flight of stairs in the middle of the room, which lead to a raised upper level. From there, they turned to the left, heading toward Baria Frontiers, only for David to stop beside a bomb. He picked it up and walked over to the others.

"Vasir, we found a military-grade explosive device," Shepard said. "It hasn't been armed.

"Sloppy work," Vasir said. "You use that kind of hardware when you don't have time to plan."

"I'm planning," David said, putting his rifle away and drawing his Locust instead, holding the bomb in his left hand. "I'll make a great grenade."

"You're kidding, right?" Shepard asked. "That bomb will-"

"Have a thirty meter blast radius," David finished. "Which means that no one I have Jack throw it at before she shields us will be able to escape."

Shepard was silent for a moment before nodding. "Well, _you're_ the tech wizard."

They headed into the Baria Frontiers offices, finding that Liara had checked into them a few minutes ago. They opened the next door and were instantly hit by a flashbang grenade. Shepard and Jack both went down hard, struggling to regain their bearings, but David's helmet darkened for the flash and was freshly upgraded to filter out sounds above the level of yelling. He _did_ however, disappear instantly with a startled cry. He carefully peaked around the corner and saw several mercs quickly closing in. He laucnhed a ball of combustible gasses at them, managing to catch two on fire, then quickly ducked back as the other three opened fire down the hallway. Shepard stepped up to the corner, David ducking out of his way, and hurled a Singularity down the hallway at the mercs. David knelt beside Jack, helping her up and helping her steady herself. Then, she sent a shockwave tearing down the hallway, hurling the mercs moving to reinforce the ones Shepard had just finished killing. There were office spaces at the far end of the hallway, and mercs quickly working their way through them, using the metal walls of the office cubicles for cover as they moved in. David tapped Shepard on the shoulder to let him know he was moving up, then slid a chair to the side once he was out of the way of Shepard's gun. Shepard began to fire instantly, his bullets catching two over-confident mercs by surprise and dropping them.

Three took cover and Shepard and Jack began to pepper the area around them with bullets for a moment. Finally, just as they stopped so their weapons wouldn't overheat, David's Harrier, as Cerberus had named the upgraded Mattock, began to fire. It's full-auto function was slower than an Avenger, but it had all the power of a Mattock, so the bullets ripped through shielding and armor both, dropping the three mercs in seconds. David stopped just as several bullets slammed into his shield. He shouted in surprise and fear, dropping into cover, but suddenly he was on Horizon again, surrounded by Collectors. He began to gasp for breath, but he felt like he couldn't get enough. His vision began to blur. He couldn't make out the crates around him, or the Collectors bullets slamming into the crates. His heart felt like it was beating faster than his gun could fire.

"David!" Jack's voice shouted suddenly as he felt his body shake.

He blinked rapidly, his vision sharpening and he found himself in a dark room, not a small square of crates. There were no Collectors shooting at him, though Shepard was in the process of gunning down the last of a merc group. David took several deep breaths, forcing himself to recenter, and to remember where he actually was. Jack was watching him with a genuinely concerned look, and any other time he might chance teasing her. But not this time. This time he pulled her into a hug, feeling Jack willingly return it.

"I'm alright," he said after a moment, pulling back as Shepard reached them. "I'm alright."

"The Hell you are," Shepard said. "Your vitals just spikes so sharply your body almost shut down."

"Sorry," David said.

"Will you be okay to keep going?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," David nodded. "I can keep going."

Jack nodded as well and helped him up, the two of them turning to Shepard, who sighed and handed David the bomb he'd left behind when the flashbang went off. They all headed to the back left corner of the Baria Frontiers office and entered a hallway where the wall on the right side had been blasted open by the bombs. They passed the hole before more mercs began to arrive. David swallowed hard, beginning to fire, but as panic began to set in again, his vision once again blurring, his shots went wild, not hitting anything useful. He blinked and the mercs blurred, their pale armor turning brown and glowing yellow eyes appearing in their helmets. David's breathing began to quicken rapidly, until Jack shoved him backward, stepping in front of him and helping Shepard quickly drop the mercs. She hurled a Shockwave as several of them grouped together, then turned to David.

"What happened?" Jack asked. "You did so well against the Geth, remember? You were a badass against them. Why can't you do that again now?"

His eyes widened, flicking around for mercs even as he recalled fighting the Geth, both with them and without. She was right. He _had_ done well against them. After all, wasn't that the deal? He could stay as long as he fought? Hadn't that been why he'd upgraded his armor, and his weapons? Wasn't it why he was training with Jacob? He nodded shakily and stood, just as a merc stepped out behind Shepard, having circled a desk in the office they were in. He raised a Revenant toward Jack and David grabbed her, pulling her behind himself just as bullets began to slam into his shields, hard. His Locust came to life, its bullets slamming into the merc, who had decided to go without armor. Just as one of the merc's bullets glanced off of David's armor on the shoulder and streaked into the ceiling, the merc dropped. David sighed, turning to Jack as his shields began to recharge.

"You okay?" David asked.

"Yeah," Jack nodded. "See? That was much better. Just keep doing that."

David nodded, smiling weakly, and they turned, catching up to Shepard as Shepard finished the last group of mercs with a Singularity-bullet combo, as he was so good at.

"You're not doing so hot today, David," Shepard said.

"Sorry," David said. "I'm good now."

Shepard nodded and they continued. At the back of that office, they took another left into a hallway that led directly to a stairwell. The only problem was, there was a damaged pipe spewing flames down the stairs.

"Got it," David said, remotely accessing the fire suppression systems and shutting all the damaged pipes in the building off.

The flames went out and they continued up the stairs. At the top, someone hurled a flashbang grenade and David turned to Jack, dropping his bomb and Locust onto the ground and covering her ears as she closed her eyes. It didn't help much, and she still staggered once he released her, but it was better than being on the ground. He knelt, grabbing his Locust again then turned, activating his cloaking tech before leaning out from the corner. There were three of them, all with no shields and armed with Avengers. He launched an Incineration Blast at one of them, then moved from the corner of the hallway along the railing of the balcony they were on to a pillar, stepping out from behind it and firing an omni-bow at one, the bolt stabbing into his gut. He shouted in pain and fell backward into the other just before Jack's Shockwave caused an explosion under them, hurling both off of the balcony.

"That's more like it," Shepard said, shaking his head. "That helmet of yours comes in handy."

"Very," David agreed.

They moved to the far end of the balcony the mercs had been on and turned left through an open door into a small hallway with another open door leading into an equally small room. They stepped into it and turned left, seeing the door to the last of the Baria Frontiers offices. They hadn't found Sekat, so he had to be in there. Just as they neared the door, the sound of a shotgun going off echoed from the other side, David squeaking in surprise and winking out of sight as Shepard and Jack took cover. Then, just as the door was opening, a pistol shot went off, and the door finished opening in time for them to see a merc drop, Vasir putting her Carnifex Hand Cannon away.

"Dammit, if I'd been just a few seconds faster, I could have stopped them," Vasir said, not actually sounding all that disappointed.

"Is this Sekat?" Shepard asked.

"Must have been," Vasir said.

"No sign of that data Liara talked about," Shepard said. "Looks like a dead end."

"Speaking of which, did you find your friend's body?" Vasir asked.

"You mean _this_ body?" Another asari asked, stepping into the room and aiming a Shirken at Vasir.

This one wore an all white bodysuit with no obvious armor plating, and an open coat that hung to her knees.

"Liara, this is Vasir," Shepard said, stepping between the two. "She's a Spectre."

"This is the woman who tried to kill me," Liara accused.

"You've had a rough day, so I'll let that slide," Vasir said. "Why don't you put that gun down?"

"I saw you!" Liara said. "I doubled back after I left. I watched you break into my apartment."

Shepard drew his own Carnifex, David raising his Locust, though flickering in and out of sight, and Jack raised her shotgun.

"You didn't know where Liara went, because she hid the message," Shepard said. "You needed me to find it for you."

"Thanks fo the help," Vasir smirked.

"Once she had my location, she signaled the Shadow Broker's forces," Liara said. "They bombed the building to take me out. She found Sekat, took his data, and killed him. I'm guessing she's still got the disk on her."

"Good guess," Vasir smirked, holding up a data disk in one hand as the other went behind her back. "Not that you'll ever see what's on it." The window behind her suddenly exploded before she swung her arm, hurling the chunks of glass at them. "You pure-blood bitch!"

Liara shielded them, and the moment the glass was done flying, Shepard charged, tackling Vasir out the window. A moment later, Liara followed them out the window. David looked to Jack and she grinned, picking him up and leaping out the window. He shrieked in fear, but her body suddenly glowed with biotic energy and their drop slowed until she landed safely. She set him on his feet and he staggered backward, again gasping for breath.

Jack helped Shepard up as David calmed himself from his sudden fear of falling to his death. Just as they were finishing, mercs began to stream into the room from a door across the room.

David dropped into cover, turning invisible instantly and syncing the bomb to his omni-tool, arming it and setting the timer for five seconds. "Jack!"

He tossed it into the air and she hit it with a ball of biotic energy, launching it into the chest of a merc just stepping out of the door. Then, it exploded and killed all of the mercs.

"Nice job!" Shepard said. "Now let's go!"

They followed Shepard to the stairs off to the left, David swapping his Locust for his Harrier on the way. When they got back to the main room, mercs had already gotten into position and opened fire as soon as they stepped into the room. Everyone shouted in surprise, diving into cover, and began to shoot back when they could. David turned invisible, but as soon as he stepped out, a flashbang hit his foot and the sudden blast of light overloaded his cloaking tech. He yelped, dropping back into cover as several rockets blasted the pillar he was hiding behind, bullets slamming into it rapidly. It _did_ however, earn Shepard and Jack a moment to use their biotics. Shepard's Singularity caught three mercs and Jack's Warp caused an explosion that repainted the room, and the other mercs, with them. The remaining mercs fell into chaos instantly, all staggering out of cover in shock and staring at the blood and entrails coating them.

"Now!" Shepard said.

All three stood from cover and opened fire, dropping the remaining mercs quickly before heading for the exit. The door opened and a pair of mercs moved to attack, but Jack blasted them with a Shockwave and sent them both sailing across the parking lot and crashing down on a pair of cars to either side of where Vasir was crouching, trading shots with Liara. As she saw Shepard and the others approaching, she turned and sprinted to the edge of the parking lot, jumping off and floating with her biotics into the passenger's seat of a skycar, the car taking off instantly.

"Dammit!" Liara swore, climbing into a cab nearby.

"I'm fine, by the way," Shepard said sarcastically, getting in beside her. "Thanks for asking. David, stay here. Jack, let's go. I'll need your biotics against Vasir."

Jack nodded, climbing in.

"Be-" David was cut off by the door closing and the skycar taking off, leaving him standing in the parking lot. "Careful."

He sighed, sitting down on the nose of a car nearby and rested his face in his hands. He was shaking. He was weak. he could try and act tough all he wanted. It didn't change the fact that he was still a scared, weak little bitch who was just trying to pretend he was something he wasn't. Shepard knew it. Jack's biotics were just a convenient excuse for leaving him behind. Not that he blamed him. He'd leave him behind too.

He sighed, reaching up and deactivating his helmet, the projectors sinking into the collar. "They'd be better off if I just left."

Just then, a car flew down and stopped in front of him, opening and revealing a man in a Blue Suns uniform. David vanished instantly, only for an electrical pulse to fry all of his technology, and two more Blue Suns to step out in his path.

"Vido Santiago would like a word with you," the human in the truck said. "Now."

David swallowed hard and nodded, climbing in, both of the others doing the same. The skycar turned and drove away from the Trade Center, and David hoped and prayed that the fact that they didn't take his weapons was a good sign, not a sign of his impending death.

* * *

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	11. Chapter 11

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

The Other Commander Shepard

David was shoved to his knees, flickering between invisible and visible almost constantly, and shaking. There were dozens of Blue Suns mercs around him, all of them armed with M-37 Falcon Assault Rifles, which fired 25mm grenades. The mercs also all had shields, most reinforced by Tech Armor, and were all currently aiming at David. Standing before David was Vito Santiago, the current head of the entirety of the Blue Suns, and arguably one of the most dangerous men alive.

"David Evans," Vito Santiago said, watching him. "Former member of the Omega branch of the Blue Suns, worked under Tarak, decent shot with a pistol, with you have to fight, passable shot with an assault rifle, _genius_ at all things tech, and skilled at infiltration using upgraded cloaking tech. You quit the Blue Suns when Tarak and most of the Omega branch were wiped out attacking Archangel. I wasn't aware that we accepted resignations."

"What are you going to do to me?" David asked, voice trembling almost as bad as he was.

"I'm going to let you go," Vito said. "I'm going to allow you to be free of the Blue Suns. But first, I'm going to give you one last job. Kill Zaeed Massani. Do that, and you're free."

"I can't just kill him," David said. "He's on the Normandy."

"So take him to a firefight and make it look like he got taken out during the fight," Vito said. "I'm not sure what part of this deal you're not understanding. Either you kill Zaeed Massani, or I do."

"Why Zaeed?" David asked.

"Well, Zaeed was my former partner, until I double crossed him," Vito said. "Not too long ago, he caught up with me and blew up a factory I was using, and he nearly killed me. So, I've decided to finish the job I started. Or, rather, I decided to have you do it."

David swallowed hard. "If I get discovered, they'll kill me."

"Then don't let them discover you," Vito said.

"Sir!" a Turian shouted, running into the room.

"What?" Vito demanded.

"There's someone here!" The Turian said. "She-"

He was cut off by several bullets slamming into him, dropping him. Then, a woman walked in wearing all black armor with an N7 on the upper right corner of her chestplate, a red stripe framed in two smaller white ones down the her right arm, a Carnifex in her right hand, and a full loadout of guns. She had what looked like an Avenger, a Katana shotgun, a white submachine gun David didn't recognize, and a Viper sniper rifle. She had blood red hair swept to the right, vibrant green eyes, an attractive face, a light splash of freckles across her nose, and the same commanding, authoritative presence that screamed of power and danger that her brother had, despite looking several years younger than her brother.

"Who the hell are you?" Vito demanded.

"I'm the _other_ Commander Shepard," the girl smirked. "Younger sister of the marginally more famous Commander Shepard."

"Then if we capture you, we can use you to make Shepard hand over Massani," Vito said. "Get her!"

"Nice try," she smirked. "I'm not quite as open in my team's recruitment. Do it."

Six people suddenly appeared in the door, all of them dressed in the same kind of armor as David wore, though the amount of armor varied. The moment they all appeared, they all opened fire with their Avengers, quickly mowing down the Blue Suns in the room. David shrieked in fear as bullets began to fly over him and curled into a ball, reactivating his helmet, and waited for the shooting to end. He didn't have to wait long. The entire slaughter lasted only a few second. David pushed himself up slowly, helmet once again deactivating as he looked around at the corpses littering the room, including Vito Santiago. David turned to Jane wide-eyed.

"You alright?" Jane asked.

"I...uh-huh," he nodded, mouth actually hanging open as he took in the obvious death squad. "Are they all..."

"N-Sevens," Jane confirmed. "My brother prefers to recruit anyone he can and turn them into heroes. I prefer to recruit soldiers I know already fight like one-person armies, then put them on a team together and let them go to town. Oh, I'm also the one who sent you that armor you're wearing, and seem to have modified. I like the helmet."

"Thank you," David said, standing. "What are you doing here?"

"My brother and his super criminal squad member went back to pick you up and couldn't find you, so, he asked me to," Jane said. "I followed the tracking device in your suit.

"What?" David's eyes shot wide open. "Where?"

"It's in the back of the collar," Jane said. "From what I've heard about your tech skills, I'm surprised you didn't find it."

David swallowed hard and nodded. "So, now what?"

Jane smiled, raising a hand to her ear. "John, it's me. No, the _other_ person who would be calling you on your personal comms and identifying themselves as 'Me.' Don't get snippy. I've got your guy. Vito Santiago abducted him and wanted him to kill Zaeed Massani for him, but your guy refused. Sure. Where we meeting you?" Her pleasant smile faded slowly before returning twice as bright. "Alright then. We'll meet you there. Save a few for your little sis, okay?"

She deactivated her comms and motioned for David to follow, all six of her N7s activating their cloaking tech and likely scattering. David followed while using his omni-tool to get his own suit's systems and tech working again. Finally, the suit's systems all rebooted and his shields began to recharge, reactivating about thirty seconds later.

"Not bad," Jane said. "Not many people could do a full systems reboot on their armor while walking and still wearing it without frying themselves in the process."

"Where are we going?" David asked.

"My squad and I are going to be transporting you to a lovely Hell hole called Hagalaz," Jane said. "Its temperatures are so extreme that the seas boil during the day, then snap-freeze at night. Hundreds above zero, to hundreds below it. In between, there's a constant lightning storm. Somewhere in that storm is the Shadow Broker's ship. My brother, your convict friend, and Liara are all headed there to take out the Shadow Broker. We'll be joining them there."

David nodded as they reached the ports and headed for a small ship built for little more than ten people, but armed to the teeth. It was obviously built to fight. He liked it. Of course, his appreciation of it only increased once they were onboard and he saw Jane Shepard's taste in decoration was quite different than John Shepard's. There were dozens of gunracks with weapons of every kind, work tables, computers already loaded with weapon mod sites from all over the extranet, including several black market sites, a station to work on armor, lounge chairs, massage chairs, and a couple Asari who wore nothing but sheets.

"Butch, Frank, I told you to stop bringing your one night stands back to the ship," Jane said as they walked in, the other N7s all appearing from elsewhere in the ship, assuming the six that showed up suddenly were the _same_ six that just slaughtered several dozen mercs in under fifteen seconds.

"Sorry, Commander," one in heavy armor said. "Ladies, I'm afraid you'll have to go."

Both Asari pouted, but got dressed. Once they were dressed, the N7 in the heavy armor, and one in light armor like what David's had originally been, except the female variation, both pulled their helmets off, kissing the Asari that they had apparently brought back to the ship the night before. The Asari finally left and Jane had her pilot leave the planet while she gave David a brief tour. The ship was pretty basic with only two floors. The bridge on the first floor, a large room behind it with the gun racks and such where David had first entered, then a long hallway with three doors on either side opening into rooms with two beds each, a ladderwell leading up to Commander Jane Shepard's private room, then the engine room in the back.

"So, you can go ahead and choose a room," Jane said. "It should only take us about fourteen hours to get to Hagalaz from here, and then you and I will be taking a shuttle down to the Shadow Broker's ship and joining my brother and his team."

David nodded, looking around as Jane headed up to talk to the pilot. David headed up to the worktables and took off his armor, quickly taking out the tracking device and deactivating it. Then, he put it back on and headed back to the engine room, finding a secluded corner that was fairly dark and hiding away in it. After a few minutes, a female in light armor walked into the room, beginning to type on a computer, checking on the engines.

"You don't have to hide back here, you know," she said, not looking over at him.

"I got used to staying out of the way on the Normandy," David said. "I just feel more comfortable here."

"You're welcome to stay with me," she offered. "I don't take up much room, so more than half the room would be yours. And you're passably attractive, so I wouldn't mind spending some time with you." She glanced over at him, her visor lightning enough for him to see her admittedly beautiful face smirk at him, her blonde hair falling to the left side of her head then running in front of her neck inside the helmet.

"Thanks, but..." he trailed off, staring at the floor.

"You've got a girlfriend?" the girl guessed.

"No," David said, frowning as it was Jack's face, not Jentha's, that flashed through his head first. "I just..."

"It's alright," she said. "It's no problem." She smiled before her helmet's visor darkened again. "If you change your mind, I'm the closest door on the right."

She raised a hand in farewell and David returned the gesture, though she didn't look back. David set his face in his hands, trying to picture Jentha's face, but finding it difficult. On the other hand, he could picture Jack's face perfectly, with several expressions. He could picture her tattoos perfectly. And, of course, thinking of tattoos inevitably made him think of one in particular. He shoved the mental image out of his head and sighed heavily, settling in for a long flight.

* * *

David glanced at Jane as the shuttle descended. The same blonde as had offered to sleep with him was the shuttle pilot, at least for now, but he didn't mind that. If anything, he was glad that at least she was out going enough to talk to him, even if it was just about sex. Jane, on the other hand, seemed especially impatient and agitated.

"Is something wrong?" David asked.

Jane glanced at him before smiling. "Not really. I'm worried about Liara. She's been a little bit obsessed with the Shadow Broker for a while. I'm worried she might have gotten worse now that there's a chance to put him down. Plus, the Shadow Broker's mercs are better than Eclipse, the Blue Suns, or Blood Pack. I know she can handle herself but…"

"But you worry because you love her," David said. "I get it. My best friend is the most powerful Biotic I've ever met and I'm worried she'll be hurt."

"You mean Jack," Jane said. "The mass murderer, among other things, that Shepard's currently slaughtering the Shadow Broker's men with?"

"Yeah, her," David nodded.

"I found them," the blonde called back to them. "They found an exterior access point, but they haven't gone inside yet. They're surrounded too, and struggling to fight back. Looks like they're pinned down.

"Do you see anywhere you can land without getting blown away by the storm?" David asked.

"Yeah," she said. "It's a little bit of a run though."

"How much is a little bit?" David asked.

"A hundred meters past giant lightning rods that power the ship," she said.

"We'll make do," Jane said. "Get us as close as you can."

Their N7 pilot nodded, flying down and opening the side door, Jane and David dropping out instantly before the shuttle flew away quickly. The lightning rods around them were slanted, pointing backward like the spines on a porcupine back on Earth, and there were about a dozen of them. The ship itself was shaped kind of like a nail, except that the back end, which was the nail head, was bent forward above and below it at a forty-five-degree angle. Since the rest of the ship was straight and mostly flat, wind was whipping across it at dozens of miles an hour, almost enough to blow David over, and likely enough that if he jumped too high, it'd launch him like a projectile.

"Come on!" Jane shouted over the wind.

They headed toward the back of the ship quickly, scrambling over metal struts and pipes, ducking around wind flaps that covered the hull of the ship in some places like patches of scales. Finally, they reached a high point on the hull with a strut for cover where they were overlooking the mercs, who were closing in on Jack and the others.

"On three," Jane said. "One-"

Jack shouted in pain suddenly as a bullet punched through her side. David gasped harshly, seeing Jentha lying bloody and lifeless, staring up at the sky. He stood, roaring in effort as his body suddenly shone blue. Then, he swung an arm upward and a trail of blue explosions shot outward from him, blasting an entire line of mercs and launching them into the air where the wind took them as though they'd been shot out of a cannon. The Shockwave took out almost a quarter of the mercs in one go, and after a second of being too surprised to act, Jane was up, her Assault Rifle, which David had come to learn was, in fact, an antique M7 Lancer, which required no Thermal Clips, roared to life, dropping mercs quickly, as did David's Harriet. The mercs were in chaos instantly, some turning to fight the new threat, most of them dying from a lack of cover on that side, and other decided to charge John Shepard and Liara, who slaughtered them. A group of them began to close in on Jack, so David dropped, slamming his fists into the ground, and a massive explosion went off below the mercs, this time ripping apart the paneling beneath their feet and offering both them and the metal plate as an offering to the wind, which it claimed greedily. And then, in a few more seconds, it was over.

Jane turned to David just as he staggered to the side, eyes rolling in his head. She shouted in surprise, catching him. He stirred after a couple of seconds once she'd set him down and she helped him up and over to the others, where she sat him down beside Jack.

"You're a biotic?" John asked.

"Yeah," David said. "Long story. I can't control it, so when I use it, I pass out."

"Well, looked pretty controlled to me," Shepard said.

"He almost killed himself, John," Jane said, then turned to Liara. "It's so good to see you!"

"Jane!" Liara smiled, hugging her. "Once we get inside, I'll give you a proper greeting."

"Well, I can't wait to get that door open then," Jane said.

"Uh, Liara?" John asked. "Is your hacking program supposed to be doing that?"

They looked over and saw it flickering red. Liara swore.

"Dammit," Liara said. "It must have gotten disrupted somehow. It'll have to start over."

"I've got it," David said, typing on his omni-tool. "Huh. That's actually an impressive level of security. I'm not hacking through it."

"What?" Shepard asked. "Even you?"

"Oh, don't worry," David said. "I've got a work around."

"What?" Jane asked.

"I'm shutting it off," David said. "Jack, you good to force a door open?"

"Sure," Jack nodded. "The medi-gel's numbing the pain, so I should be good."

David nodded and typed on his omni-tool for a moment. Then, the ship suddenly shuddered and the light on the door winked out.

"Tell me you didn't mean you were shutting the whole ship off," Shepard said.

"Only for three seconds," David said as Jack limped over to the door, glowing with biotics, then shoved the door open just before the ship shuddered again and came back online, the door remaining open. "Come on."

He walked over to the door and Liara and the two Commander Shepards all shook their heads and followed.

* * *

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	12. Chapter 12

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

Shadow Broker

David ducked into cover, hands clenching on his rifle hard to keep from trembling. The hallway was small, so even though his cloaking tech was constantly active, he couldn't move up without being shot. So, here he was, fighting like the soldier he wasn't. At least he wasn't alone. Two Commander Shepards were a force to be fled from, not that the Shadow Broker's mercs were able to.

Jane passed David, shooting mercs rapidly as she moved to the next strut up. John moved next, Liara hurling a singularity past him and pulling a handful of mercsout of cover for him to kill. Then, Jack sent a Shockwave exploding down the hallway, hurling mercs just before David moved up. He finished two of the mercs on the ground before sending an Incineration Blast at one. Then, he ducked into cover again as the shooting resumed. And then it stopped. A merc grunted in pain and slumped to the ground and they all looked out, seeing a pale green Drell standing among several new corpses, armed only with a jagged piece of metal.

"Whoever you are, you're very foolish to attack...Liara?" the Drell stared at her in shock.

"Feron!" Liara gasped, running forward and meeting him with a hug. "You're alive!"

"What are you doing here?" Feron asked.

"We came here to rescue you, and to take down the Shadow Broker," Liara said, pulling back. "Are you alright?"

"I will be," Feron said. "The Shadow Broker tortured me for a very long time. He had me hooked up to a chair that would electrocute me periodically, and if I tried to escape. At least, until the power shut down and gave me the change to escape. Was that you?"

"That was me," David said, raising a hand. "I was getting us through the door, but I'm glad it helped you too."

"I see," Feron said. "You're skilled if you could remotely shut down the entire ship from outside."

David shrugged.

"Yeah, he's a genius with tech," Shepard said.

"Apparently so," Feron said. "There are more mercs up ahead. They'll be getting into position to deal with you."

"We'll handle them," Jane said.

"You must be Jane Shepard," Feron said. "Liara's told me about you."

Jane smiled and slipped her hand into Liara's. Liara smiled at her and gave her a quick kiss.

"I thought you promised me a proper greeting once we were inside," Jane smirked.

"Oh, so I did," Liara smiled, pulling her into a more intimate kiss.

After a couple seconds, John cleared his throat and they separated. "I think we have other things to do. You know, mercs, Shadow Broker, tons of dead bodies."

"Sounds familiar," Jane said. "Will you be okay Feron?"

"Yes," Feron said. "I'll meet you after you've dealt with him."

Liara nodded, giving him one last hug before they continued along the hallway. As they walked, Jack's limp began to grow more pronounced, so David carefully took her arm over his shoulders, drawing his Locust and helping her walk, Jack allowing it without a complaint, surprisingly. After a couple of minutes, they reached a corner with an open door on the other side, which had a pair of dead Asari outside it. To the left, further along the hallway, there were mercs crouching behind pillars. David stepped back from the corner, deactivating his cloaking tech.

"Mercs up ahead," he said.

"Pull and shoot?" John asked.

"Just like the Skyllian Blitz," Jane smirked. "Except with less room for them to maneuver."

John hurled a Singularity down the hallway as he crossed to a pillar on the opposite side of the room. After a moment, Jane stepped out, laughing, and firing, screams of pain echoing after her. Then, she moved up, John following. David typed on his omni-tool for a moment before taking Jack's arm over his shoulders again, then activated his cloaking tech, both of them turning invisible, this time, his shields also spreading to protect her. They moved into the hallway and moved forward carefully. The Commanders Shepard had already moved past the corner to the right up ahead, leaving corpses in their wake, and Liara was just behind them, just now passing the corner, a knowing smile on her face. David and Jack followed as quickly as they could, and after a few minutes of stepping over corpses, they reached a short hallway where the others were all waiting outside.

"I'm going to need another dose of painkillers for this," Jack said.

David gave her some and Jack nodded to the others. They opened the door and walked inside, all of them aiming at the horned behemoth seated behind the desk. The creature looked between them all, clasping its hands on the desk.

"Here for the Drell?" it asked in a deep, distorted voice. "Reckless. Even for you, Commanders."

"That bombing on Illium wasn't exactly subtle," John said.

"Extreme," the Shadow Broker agreed. "But necessary."

"No it wasn't!" Liara snapped. "Neither was caging Feron for two years!"

"Dr. T'Soni, your interference caused all this," the Shadow Broker said. "Feron betrayed me when he handed you Shepard's body. The Drell was simply paying the price. And now that your friend shut off the power for a few moments, I expect he is no longer where I left him. If you wish to take him, I will allow it. And if you stop attempting to kill me, I'll stop interfering in your life."

"We'll get that same reward by killing you here and now," Jane said.

"That's true," the Shadow Broker said calmly.

"You had to know someone would come after you for working with the Collectors," John said.

"It was a mutually beneficial partnership," the Shadow Broker said. "A partnership based on a deal which still stands."

"You'll never be able to collect on it," Jane said. "We've already killed your entire crew."

"They are replaceable," the Shadow Broker said. "Your coming here is barely an interruption." He spread his hands, setting them on the desk. "Enough talk. My operations are too crucial to be compromised by you."

"You're quite confident for someone with nowhere left to hide," Liara said.

"You travel with fascinating companions, Doctor," the Shadow Broker said. "It's good you brought Subject Zero, T'Soni. Her bounty is quite high after her escape from Purgatory. As is the bounty on David Evans' head, courtesy of the Blue Suns, now that I've implicated him in the death of Vito Santiago. Of course, I could simply hire him. His technical skills would be quite useful, and I could keep the Blue Suns off of him."

"I'm not interested," David said, flickering.

"A shame," the Shadow Broker said. "Still, as I said, your bounty is still quite high."

"You're not putting a hand on anyone!" Liara snarled.

"It's pointless to challenge me, Asari," the Shadow Broker said. "I know your every secret, while you fumble in the dark."

"Is that right?" Liara asked, smirking. "You're a Yahg. A pre-spaceflight species quarantined to their homeworld for massacring the Council's first contact teams. This base is older than your planet's discovery, which probably means you killed the original Shadow Broker sixty years ago, then took over. I'm guessing you were taken from your world by a trophy hunter who wanted a slave...or a pet." Liara smirked. "How am I doing?"

"Uh, maybe we _shouldn't_ piss off the giant, _violent_ monster in the room?" David offered, flickering as the Shadow Broker stood slowly, reaching an impressive feet of about ten feet, taller than a Krogan.

After a moment of simply standing imposingly before them, the Shadow Broker roared, smashing its fists down on the desk, smashing it, then hurled half of it at them. Jane dove to the side, tackling Liara out of the way, and John went the other way. David and Jack, however, weren't nearly as fast, and the desk crashed into them, hurling them and leaving both of them unconscious.

* * *

David groaned, slowly beginning to stand as a roar echoed through the room. He managed to push himself up and staggered to the side before falling to his knees again. He looked around, seeing the Shadow Broker firing at John and Jane, who were hidden between two pillars, Liara was on the other side, shooting at his back, only for her Shuriken to do basically nothing to the Shadow Broker's shields. The Shadow Broker roared, charging headlong into the pillar Jane was hidden behind and exploded through it entirely, barely missing Jane, then turned, blocking John's Warp with an omni-shield almost the size of his entire body.

David looked to Jack and walked over, shaking her in an attempt to wake her, to no avail. He groaned as his head throbbed and spun, sending him staggering backward. He turned, firing a ball of electricity at the Shadow Broker, but the blast missed, slamming harmlessly into the wall. The Shadow Broker roared, turning and raising a Revenant in his right hand, only for Liara to tackle David behind a low wall, the bullets slamming into it rapidly. David groaned, activating his helmet, then holding his hands to it as each beat of his heart pounded through his head like a sledgehammer impact.

"You have a concussion!" Liara shouted over the gunfire. "Stay down! We'll handle this!"

"David, can you overload his shield?" Shepard asked.

"The shield's containment field is resistant to electrical charges," David groaned, sitting back against the low wall as he heard more gunfire start and the Shadow Broker roared. "It can't be overloaded. On the other hand, that white thing on the ceiling is filled with a special conductive liquid that's currently holding all the power of every lightning bolt this ship takes. I'm pretty sure taking a bath in it is a bad idea."

"Got it," Jane said.

David pushed himself up to watch as Jane and John both stepped out, spread out just far enough that the Shadow Broker couldn't block both of their bullets, so they would alternate. The Shadow Broker roared, charging at Jane, only for Liara to smash a huge ball of biotic energy into his over-sized, red-skinned face, throwing him backward to the ground below the white tank in the ceiling. As soon as he hit, she hurled a Warp into the tank, cracks spiderwebbing across it before Liara's biotics gripped it and she ripped her arms downward. The tank all but exploded and the fluid began to crash down on the Shadow Broker, who roared in agony. He shoved himself up, but just as he regained his feet, his massively overloaded shields exploded, hurling the two Commander Shepards and Liara away. David sighed, deactivating his helmet and crawled over to Jack, gently shaking her, this time managing to wake her up. As she sat up, the power went out for a moment, before coming back on and Jack glared up at the lights, grumbling.

"I feel like I got hit in the head by a cruiser," Jack said.

"Fortunately, it was only a desk," David said. "You okay?"

"I'll just overdose on medi-gel for a couple days," Jack grumbled. "No big deal."

Just then, a wall of screens with blue lines for soundwaves began to flash red as multiple voices began to ask if everything was okay, beginning to panic. Finally, Liara brought up a voice-change program and reported everything was normal, and ordered them to give full reports on their various operations within the next day. A moment later, the door opened and Feron ran in, aiming at the screens, only for his arm to fall as he saw who was at the controls.

"Goddess of oceans," Feron breathed, limping into the room. "It's you. You...how?"

"Well, everyone who's ever seen him in person is dead, so..." Liara trailed off.

"You're the new Shadow Broker," Feron finished.

"Are we sure this is a good idea?" Jane asked. "Is it safe?"

Liara smiled over at her. "I can take care of myself, Jane. And yes, this is safe. I'm sure of it. Besides, it was either that, or everything. His contacts, his trading resources. Those will really help us. With the Shadow Broker's information network, I can give you...I can..."

"I'll...uh...check the power systems," Feron said.

"I'll make sure the security systems are back up," David said, turning, only to stumble, Jack catching him.

"Smooth," Jack said. "Come on, Pipsqueak. I'll help you."

They left, John following, leaving Jane and Liara to have some time to themselves.

* * *

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	13. Chapter 13

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

Deteriorating

David sighed, kneeling down in front of Jack, wincing in sympathy as he applied medi-gel to the bullet wound directly, then pressed a gauze pad to it and began to bandage it. Jack did well at not reacting to the pain, though her brow was creased slightly. She had refused to let Dr. Chakwas treat her wound, since it was only a through-and-through and she had been hurt worse before, but Jack had still insisted on bandaging it for her, since he'd be able to do it easier.

"Why are you so adamant that you have to be the one to clean me up?" Jack asked after a few moments of watching him wrap bandages around her to hold the bandages on the entry and exit wound. "Are you just trying to get in my pants? Because if you are you better just fucking say so!"

"After everything, you think this is just about sex?" David asked.

"You _were_ pretty flustered that time you saw my ass when I showed you my sparrow tattoo," Jack said.

"That's because you're beautiful," David said.

Jack's eyes widened as her cheeks flushed slightly before she glared at him.

David sighed. "I'm not just trying to get into your pants, Jack. I want to make sure you're okay. And if you can't clean the would properly because you can't see the exit wound, you'll run a chance of getting infected."

"Fuck off!" Jack said, shoving him, now that he had finished securing the bandages. "You think I'm weak or something? You think I can't take care of myself!? I've been taking care of myself since you were still learning to read and write!"

"I know," David said calmly. "Jack, I will never think of you as weak. Never. You're the strongest person I know. Not because you're a powerful biotic. I mean your real strength. You survived everything you went through. Even more than that, you thrived despite it. You didn't let what Cerberus, or prison, or other people did to you destroy you. You used everything you've gone through to make yourself stronger. To me, you are the embodiment of strength. That's why I wanted to help you. Not because I thought you were weak, but because I can't bear to see you hurt. I care about you too much for that."

"You _care_ about me!?" Jack scoffed. "I thought you were different, but I guess you're just as fucking stupid as you ever were! You're just another weakling in a galaxy full of pussies! You couldn't even make it through one fight last time without being too afraid to come out from under a fucking table! What the fuck could _you_ ever offer to someone that would make them care about you? I told you, love is a lie! No one gives a shit about anyone but themselves, and everyone's just trying to take something from you! That includes me! You had your uses, but now you're just an annoyance! I don't care if you think you love me or whatever! I don't give a shit about you! i don't need a friend, I don't _want_ a friend, and I _certainly_ don't want _you_! Get the fuck away from me! If I see you down here again, I'll repaint the walls with you!"

David was silent for a moment before his gaze fell to the floor. "You're right. I'm a coward. Ever since Horizon...no, even before then, I've always been afraid of everything. When Jentha was still alive, I was able to fight because the alternative was for us to go to jail where God knows what would happen to her. After Horizon, I got mad. I was still terrified, but I was mad. So I was able to fight the Geth at Project Overlord without losing my nerve. But after seeing what happened during that experiment, I remembered the one I was subjected to, the one that gave me my biotics. I broke. All the pain and fear I'd been hiding for so long came back, and I couldn't handle it. I lost the will to fight. Every time I got into a fight, I'd see Jentha. I'd see her bloody and lifeless, staring at the sky. I couldn't handle it. So I'd have panic attacks. But you were there. You sounded so confident, and so sure that I could do it. I couldn't let you down. So I fought. And...somehow, I managed to find a little bit of false strength. But I was still a coward. Like you said, I have nothing special to offer. I'll never be worth anyone's attention, much less their affection. But, I'm not going to stop caring about you just because you don't want me to. You may not care about me, but my feelings won't change. I just...want you to know that if you ever need me, I'll be here for you. You just have to ask."

He turned, walking away and headed up to the armory. Jacob glanced up at him, then frowned as David walked to the guns, pulled out his rifle, and began to tinker with it, only to slam his hand down after a minute.

"Stupid!" David muttered. "I can't just...that'll make it explode the first time it overheats. Fucking..." his hand slipped and the screwdriver he was trying to loosen a bolt with tore a gash in his finger. He grunted in pain and punched the wall, gritting his teeth against the pain.

"Hey!" Jacob said. "Yo, are you alright? I've never seen you this...angry, before."

"I'm fine!" David snapped, voice cracking. He swallowed, taking a breath. "I'm fine. I just...I'm trying to adjust to my rifle to make it last longer before it has to cool down but the fucking screwdriver slipped, and I almost turned it into a _fucking bomb_!" His hand slipped again, this time resulting in his right hand jamming his index finger into a piece of metal hard. He yelped in pain, then turned, hurling the screwdriver into the wall and squeezing his injerred finger with his other hand, biting back a string of curses.

"You need to cool off!" Jacob said.

"I'm fine!" David snapped.

"The fuck you are!" Jacob snapped back. "You're so angry that even you, the most reserved, under control person I know, are throwing shit!"

"Jacob," Kasumi said, stepping into the room off to the side. "Let it go. David, come have a drink with me. It'll help."

"Fuck it," David grumbled. "Why not? I have nothing better to do."

He followed her to the elevator, taking it to the crew deck, then following her to the lounge. She poured him a shot and he drained it. She poured him another, and he drained that, too. Finally, she sighed and sat down behind the bar, pouring herself a drink before pouring him a more full glass so he wouldn't drain it, which he did anyway.

"You keep doing that and you'll regret it," Kasumi said.

"Not if I don't remember anything," David said.

"I suppose forgetting would be one way to deal with it," Kasumi said. "Not a good one."

"I lost Jentha because I was too weak," David said. "Everyone tells me that it wasn't my fault, but it was."

"You're right," Kasumi agreed, David staring at him. "From everything I've heard, you were too afraid of being shot to fight, even though your shields would have held long enough for you to take quick shots. Jentha knew you were too afraid, so she left cover to get the Collectors off of you, even though she knew it meant she would likely die. Her death was your fault. And now, you're sitting here, trying to get drunk because you caught feelings for a volatile, antisocial convict, who said from the very beginning that she didn't do relationships. You got one killed, and you were stupid enough to let another break your heart. Is that what you want me to say?"

David stared at the bar.

"You aren't anything like the rest of the people on this ship," Kasumi said. "You _know_ that you're scared, all the time. And you force yourself to fight despite that for other peoples' sakes. Then after the mission, you come up here to drink until your nerves calm down, or are you going to deny that too?"

David's gaze shifted to the left before he poured himself another full glass, sipping at it.

"Everyone else on the ship is okay with fighting, because even when they're scared, they cope by destroying whatever scares them," Kasumi said. "Their fight or flight response is set to fight. Yours is set to flight. But you ignore it by having your cloaking tech fine-tuned enough to hide you, then you fight while you're invisible so that your fight or flight response doesn't just make you run or cower, like you did on Horizon when they could attack you despite being invisible. Another way you're different is what you hate. Miranda hates her father. Jacob hates rules and regulations. Garrus hates the Turian that betrayed him. Shepard hates the Reapers. Jack hates Cerberus. But you...you hate yourself. You hate yourself for being afraid, for being weak. You blame yourself, even before the Collectors, for Jentha's death, when in reality, you _couldn't_ have saved yourself, and Jentha did what she did, knowing she would likely die for it, because she _loved_ you, and she wanted you to be safe, even if it meant she couldn't be with you. Jentha's death _was not_ your fault, David. It never was, and the only person who truly believes it was was you.

"You hate yourself for something you couldn't control, and you're so set on blaming yourself for it, that you actually _want_ someone else to tell you that it was your fault. Because you're afraid of what it would mean if it wasn't your fault. Because that would mean that you couldn't have saved her. It would mean that no matter how brave, or how strong you become, there will always be people you can't protect, people that will die no matter how hard you try. And that terrifies you, because you're terrified of losing the people you love. Because you've known that pain for a long time, haven't you?"

David stared at the bar in silence. He drained his glass before looking up at her. "How did you know about that?"

"I always find out who I'm working with," Kasumi said. "Your history took a surprising amount of work to find. The parents that were killed by a robber in front of you, while you were helpless to help. The slavers that tortured and beat you every day for months, until they sold you to Roman Lance. The torture Roman Lance subjected you to. It was after the experiment that you got your graybox and started to get good with tech. And then the Blue Suns kidnapped you and killed your only friend in the process. They forcefully recruited you for your tech skills, and then you met Jentha, who looked after you, and eventually fell for you. And then you lost her. You've lost so many people you loved while you were unable to help, and you blame yourself for all of them. But none of it was your fault."

David didn't respond, draining another glass.

Kasumi sighed, finishing her drink. "I know how you feel. After Keiji died, I ran myself ragged blaming myself for it, wondering what I could have done differently to save him. I hated myself for not being good enough to save him. And I know how much it hurts, and how exhausting it is, carrying the ghosts of those you've lost around with you. but something I learned after I got Keiji's graybox back was that the people we lost don't want us to carry them around with us. And if you could talk to your loved ones again, they'd tell you the same. It's okay to miss them, but eventually, you have to let them go. The last thing they would want is to burden you with their deaths forever. You have to lay that weight down. You have to let them go. You have to let them move on."

She rested her hand on his shoulder for a moment, then walked out of the room. He drained another glass as his graybox's holoscreen flicked on, his memories of being with Jentha, and his parents, and his friend all playing before his eyes, tears running down his cheeks.

* * *

"I don't know who you are, but Cerberus threatened the security of the Migrant Fleet," the new Quarian crewmember that Shepard had just rescued from a planet filled with Geth, Tali'Zorah, was saying to Jacob, David overhearing only because he was heading to the armory to work out with Jacob. "Don't make nice."

"That's why you're here Tali," Shepard said. "I need people who _aren't_ Cerberus. People I can trust."

David stared at the floor. Nothing less trustworthy than a coward who had panic attacks during firefights. He kept walking, but he could still hear their conversation from the armory. Apparently the ship had thinner walls than he realized.

"I wasn't part of what happened to the Migrant Fleet, but I understand your distrust," Jacob said. "I hope we'll get past that as we work together."

"I assumed that you were undercover, Shepard," Tali said. "Maybe planning to blow Cerberus up. If that's the case, I'll loan you a grenade. Otherwise, I'm here for you, not for them."

David looked to his rifle, which was still partially disassembled on the table. He walked over, quickly adjusting it the way he'd meant to the other day, then put it back together and put it away just as Jacob stepped into the room.

"Oh, David, hey," Jacob said. "What's up?"

"You got time for a workout?" David asked.

Jacob watched him for a long moment. "You sure you're good to? I can smell the alcohol from here."

"I'll be fine," David said.

Jacob sighed heavily. "What happened to you, man? You used to be one of the more pleasant to be around. Now being around you makes me want to take up drinking again."

"Are you going to work out with me or not?" David asked impatiently.

Jacob sighed. "Sure. We'll start with crunches today."

* * *

David watched Shepard carefully for a moment. Shepard had held off for a while, but it seemed his curiosity had won out.

"I want to know why you don't use your biotics," Shepard said.

"I told you, I can't control them," David said.

"And why did you never mention them?" Shepard asked.

"Because I never wanted them," David said. "And I didn't have anything worth mentioning when I was young. Not until I was about thirteen."

"Thirteen?" Shepard asked.

"I was kidnapped by slavers and sold to a rich human named Roman Lance," David said. "For the first hour, I thought his name was funny. Then I got signed up for experimentation."

"Experimentation?" Shepard repeated. "For what?"

"To make my basically nonexistent biotics stronger," David said. "Most human biotics at thirteen, without training, can lift a small piece of Styrofoam. I was able to glow. My abilities were pathetic, just like everything else about me. Roman Lance decided to...help out, with that. So he had the scientists that worked for him install experimental biotic amps, with no anesthetics, and had state-of-the-art, illegal Asari technology surgically implant element zero nodules in my body. Then they shoved a feeding tube and air tube down my throat like Gavin Archer did to his brother, and they stabbed me full of tubes and wires, and then they ran a mixture of Asari blood mixed with human blood and eezo dust through my veins. Obviously, that's not conducive to a human body continuing to function, so they had me hooked up to a life support system the entire three years they were doing it. Every month, they'd dial back the human blood, and dial up the eezo. Finally, after three years, they ran human blood through my veins until I could keep myself alive, unhooked the life support, ripped the tubes out of me, and stuck me in an arena with an Asari and told me to fight. I couldn't even stand on my own. The Asari took pity on me and smuggled me out, gave me my first omni-tool, taught me to use it, and then disappeared back to Asari space a few weeks later. I spent the money she left me on a graybox so I could relive the memories of my parents, and delete the memories of the experiment, except you can't just delete memories. Then the day after I got a graybox, I got jumped by a couple thugs in an alleyway. I tried to use my biotics to defend myself and sprayed the alleyway with them before passing out. When I woke up, a Salarian had found me and was helping me recover. He taught me everything he knew about tech, and I got good at it. I got better than him. Good enough that I didn't need to use Biotics. So I did. I tried to forget I had them. Then the Blue Suns decided to force me to use my skills for them, so they killed my friend and abducted me, forced me into helping them on a job, recorded me doing it so they could blackmail me into staying so I wouldn't be arrested. Eventually, I met Jentha, who was supposed to be the person to force me to stay. Instead, she destroyed all the evidence against me, and I stayed to be with her."

Shepard was silent for a long few seconds. "I'm sorry. I can't imagine."

"No, you can't," David said, standing. "Are we done here, because I have the bottom of a liquor bottle to check for the cure to sobriety."

Shepard sighed, nodding. David turned, leaving the room and heading to the bar again, Kasumi once again leaving him in peace, going to hang out with Jacob, or Garrus, or Tali. She and Tali apparently got along really well.

* * *

David watched out the window as Shepard walked away from the Normandy with Jack and Tali. They were going to recruit some Asari law enforcement agent or something called a Justicar. David didn't really care. It didn't involve him. And by the time they got back, he'd probably be blackout drunk. Again. It was becoming a recurring trend with him, and the others were all ignoring it. He tipped the bottle back, no longer bothering with using a glass. It was easier to use the bottle.

"Ar eyou just going to drink yourself to death?" Jack asked from the doorway.

"What do you care?" David asked. "Every time someone dies and it's not you, your odds of survival go up, right? So why should you care whether or not your odds increase by one?"

He felt Jack watching him for a long moment before the door closed. David took a longer drink, activating his graybox's holoscreen.

* * *

David finished his bottle and dropped it into a trash chute just as the door to the armory opened and a Drell stepped in wearing a black coat with the sleeves extending to the middle of his hands with an opening for his thumbs, black pants, black boots, and a black undershirt. He was an assassin, if David had heard the rumors right, and apparently a damn good one. He also was just one more person that David no longer cared to talk to. He was finding it hard to care about much of anything, really.

"Oh, hello," the Drell greeted him. "My name is Thane Krios. I'll be joining the crew for this mission."

"David," David grunted unpleasantly, pulling out a pistol and taking it apart, beginning to adjust the pieces to make it shoot more accurately and faster.

"Are you alright?" Thane asked. "It...uh...smells like you've been drinking."

"Boy, you really _are_ a sharp one," David said, reassembling the pistol. "Man, you'll be helpful with observational powers like that."

He put it away and walked away, leaving Thane standing in the armory, unsure of what he'd done to anger David.

"Don't mind him," Kasumi said, appearing beside him. "He lost someone not long after coming onto the ship, and then the person who helped him move past that pain used it to hurt him, so he's hurting right now. I think he'll be okay, though. As soon as I manage to convince Jack to apologize."

"I see," Thane said. "In that case, I hope you are successful."

Kasumi nodded in agreement, then disappeared again.

* * *

"Apparently Shep's going to help Jacob find his father, who was listed as MIA for ten years," Kasumi said as she sipped her drink, David taking a swig from his bottle and grunting. "You really don't care? You've really checked out, haven't you? You don't care about anyone on this ship."

"Nope," David said. "You can all go rot for all I care."

"Then why haven't you left yet?" Kasumi asked.

"Where else will I find free alcohol?" David asked.

Kasumi sighed. "You know, I miss the old David. He seemed nice. I'm sorry I didn't get to talk to him for long. That Locust I gave him was supposed to be an excuse to talk to him and be his friend. I'm sorry to see he's gone."

She walked out of the room and David took another swig, sighing tiredly. He stared at his empty bottle before setting it aside, reaching over the counter for another, coming back with a bottle of Elasa. He snorted. Of course he'd blindly find a bottle of the most stereotypical drink for the heartbroken.

* * *

David walked into the bar and picked up a bottle, but as he turned around, Shepard walked in, taking it and setting it down. "I was planning to drink that."

"Change of plans," Shepard said. "You're not going to sit around drinking yourself to death today. You're coming with me on a mission."

"No," David said, picking up the bottle. "I'll pack my things if you want me to, but I'm not ready for any missions right now."

"That's fine," Shepard said. "I just figured you'd want revenge."

David stopped, narrowing his eyes and looking back at Shepard. "What, you found Roman Lance?"

"I meant more recently," Shepard said. "We're heading to a derelict Collector ship. The same one that was on Horizon."

David's eyes widened slowly as he stared at Shepard, then at the bottle in his hand. His eyes narrowed, and he set the bottle on the bar. "ETA?"

"Two hours," Shepard said.

"Perfect," David said. "Just enough time for me to get cleaned up and put on my best suit for our friends."

Shepard nodded, smirking. "Good. And David, maybe make it a cold shower."

David nodded and left the room.

* * *

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	14. Chapter 14

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

Trap

David activated his helmet, rifle in his hands and eyes glaring at the door of the shuttle. To his right, Shepard was activating his Warp Ammo, using his omni-tool to give it to both of his teammates. To David's left, however, stood Jack, one hand holding one of the handles in the ceiling to keep from being knocked over if the shuttle had to take evasive maneuvers, pistol in her free hand, and a frown on her face. She didn't look angry, though. If David hadn't been so anxious to take his pain and anger out on Collectors, he'd have thought she looked a bit sad.

"Are you two ready?" Shepard asked.

"Ready," Jack said.

"I'll tear them limb from limb!" David snarled.

"I need you calm for this," Shepard said.

"Then you brought me on the wrong fucking mission," David said. "For once in my life, everything I am is screaming at me to slaughter anything that moves and isn't you, Commander."

Jack glanced at him. "Are you okay? You're never this violent. Or aggressive. Or angry."

"Just don't get in front of me," David growled.

Finally, the shuttle landed and opened and David stepped out, rifle raised and ready, sweeping it around the hallway they were in. When he saw it was clear, he growled in annoyance.

"The least they could do is send a welcoming committee," David grumbled, starting into the ship.

"David, slow down!" Shepard ordered. "This ship is disabled!"

"That's not the same thing as them all being dead, is it?" David growled, turning back to him. "Besides, there was no Turian wreckage outside, even though the Illusive Man claimed the Turians disabled it, right?"

"EDI, any sign of the Turian ship?" Shepard asked.

"I do not detect any other vessels in the area, Shepard," EDI said.

"What?" Joker asked. "How's that possible? Where the hell's the Turian ship that supposedly disabled the Collector ship?"

"With no hull damage?" David asked, then snorted. "Right. This is a trap. Whether it's by the Collectors, or the Illusive Man, or both, I don't care. And since it's a trap, that means I'll be able to kill anything I want to soon. So let's go spring this trap already so I can repaint the fucking walls with these fucking cockroaches!"

"Calm the fuck down!" Shepard snapped. "You can kill as many as you want, but you're _not_ going off half-cocked on your own! You'll work as a team!"

David grit his teeth for a moment before nodding. "Fine."

Shepard nodded and took the lead, the three of them following the metal and organic material hallways of the ship. There were massive bulkhead doors that David's scans said were a foot thick, and the ship itself looked like a cross between a space station and an insect hive. There were netting-like webs filled with oblong balls of a material similar to that of the rest of the non-metal bits of the ship, looking suspiciously like egg sacks. However, When David aimed up at one, Shepard forbade him from shooting them. After a couple of minutes, they found a few of the same kind of pods as were on Horizon, and about the same time, something, somewhere in the ship, shrieked. As they rounded the next corner, they found a pile of bodies in some sort of hardened mucus.

"They left a bunch of rotting corpses in a pile?" Jack asked.

"It was probably the control group of an experiment," David said, nudging a body with his foot. "The control group would be useless afterward and would have been discarded."

"There are worse things than death," Shepard said. "Like being test subjects for twisted aliens."

"Not like they care anymore," David said, turning and walking away from the pile. "Dead is dead. They're not coming back, so we have no reason to stick around."

The hallway turned left for a ways before turning right. At the end of that stretch, where the hallway turned left again, there were a pair of machines, similar to an ancient human MRI machine. Both had a pod on the table attached to it, the pod on the left containing a human, and the one on the right a collector. David scanned the control panel in the middle and hummed thoughtfully.

"What is it?" Shepard asked.

"EDI, are you seeing this?" David asked.

"I am," EDI confirmed.

"The Collectors were running baseline genetic comparisons between themselves and humans," David said.

"Why?" Shepard asked.

"Do I look like a Collector scientist to you?" David grumbled. "I don't have any fucking clue why they're comparing themselves to humans. All I have are a positive ID match between the Collectors and a different species."

"Which?" Shepard asked.

"The Protheans," David said.

"My God," Shepard gasped. "The Protheans didn't vanish. They're just working for the Reapers now!"

"These are no longer Protheans, Shepard," EDI said. "Their genes show distinct signs of extensive genetic rewrite. The Reapers have repurposed them to suit their needs."

"Hey Commander," David said, now leaning against a wall off to the side, obviously impatient. "I'd like to get in, massacre the Collectors, and get out again _before_ this ship blows up, or summons a Reaper, or flies FTL into a sun. Think we can skip this conversation for _after_ we find out whatever the fuck the Illusive Man sent us here to find out?"

They walked to the end of the hallway, past more pods, to a room with a ramp leading up a level and several openings in the walls near the ceiling, creating tunnels that were lined with pods. They followed the ramp up, David ignoring the others' conversation about how many pods were possibly full, and whether or not any possible victims died when the ship shut off. They reached the top of the ramp and turned a corner to find a longer, steeper one and started up it.

"Commander, you gotta hear this," Joker said. "On a hunch I asked EDI to run an analysis on this ship."

"I compared the EM profile against data recorded by the original Normandy two years ago," EDI said. "They are an exact match."

"The same ship dogging me for two years?" Shepard asked. "Way beyond coincidence. I think you were right about this being a trap, David."

"And it only took you twenty minutes to figure out," David said. "Congratulations."

Again, something in the ship shrieked. David narrowed his eyes. He wanted to shoot something. He wanted to let go of all of his bottled up rage, and pain, and self-loathing by slaughtering Collectors. And yet, there were none to shoot. Finally, they reached the top of the slope and turned a corner into the main tube of the ship, a massive opening probably a half-mile across, if not more, and lined with millions of pods.

"Fuck, that's a lot of pods," Jack breathed.

"Evough for every human in the Terminus Systems five times over," David said. "They'll be hitting Earth soon."

"Not if we stop them," Shepard said.

There was a light up ahead, which David was pretty sure was the main firing system of the ship's gun. They walked toward that, closer to the heart of the ship, and he looked around, silently screaming for Collectors to step out and let him kill them. Finally, they reached a metal platform surrounded by waist-high walls and with a curved on in the middle with a green holo-panel in the middle of it.

"Control panel up ahead," Jack said.

"Finally," Shepard said.

"Let's get this party started," David grinned, activating his Tech Armor, its new black coloring matching his armor.

"I'm going to have to agree," Shepard said. "Be ready for a fight."

Jack nodded and they stepped onto the platform, Shepard connecting EDI with the control panel.

"EDI, mine fast," Shepard said. "And be ready for some kind of trap."

"All firewalls are up," EDI said. "I am prepared to counter any cyberwarfare attacks. I've been locked out."

Just then, the panel flashed and disappeared, and several massive metal pistons in glass tubes on the right side suddenly began to move as the ship began to power up again.

"Finally," David said.

Suddenly, the platform broke free of the floor, rising into the air and spinning as it moved away from the path they'd been on. David leaned on a low wall so that he was being spun forward, that way when it stopped, he wouldn't fall over. Jack and Shepard looked around worriedly, but David merely grinned, preparing his omni-tool's fabricator for use. Finally, the platform stopped and Shepard staggered, barely staying on his feet while Jack was thrown to the ground, both of them dizzy. David, on the other hand, took two steps forward for his momentum, and wobbled for a second before shaking his head and righting himself. A pair of platforms rose into view with Collectors on them and David grinned, crouching behind the middle wall and preparing himself, Shepard and Jack also getting into cover and readying themselves.

"Connection reestablished," EDI said. "I need to finish the download before I can override any systems."

"The you'd better get it done fast, EDI," Shepard said.

The platforms finally stopped, connecting with the one they were on, and David and the others opened fire, David grinning widely as he sprayed the Collectors. One of the plaforms began to move and Jack sent a Shockwave across it, launching two of the three Collectors off of it, both falling to their deaths. One of the remaining ones rose into the air, cracking as flames began to flicker out of it and David swung his gun around as it turned on him. He opened fire, his bullets slamming into its barrier hard as it hurled a ball of flaming, corrupted biotics at him. He allowed the blast to his him, staggering backward several steps, but his shields held and the burning collector began to disintegrate. A bullet slammed into his shields from the side and he spun, hurling an Incineration Blast and killing that Collector just as Shepard used a Singularity on the last and Jack shot it.

"Be careful, David!" Jack snapped. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Big fucking loss, I'm sure," David said, shields finishing recharging as several more platforms approached.

One rose from below as they were closing in, this one having one of the massive, bulging creatures on it, which Shepard called a scion when he announced its presence. David begna to spray it with bullets while both Shepard and Jack hurled a Warp into it before dropping into cover. David waited until the thing fired to drop, barely evading its cannon, then stood again, returning to spraying it with bullets. His gun spit steam suddenly, so he sent a ball of explosive gasses at it, causing an explosion. When the smoke cleared, the creature was dead and the other three platforms were just arriving, one of the Collectors already burning. He turned, forming an omni-bow and sending a bolt into its chest which exploded, instantly blasting it wide open. The other Collectors opened fire and David ducked into cover for a moment before his gun finished cooling itself.

"Assuming Control!" a deep voice announced as another Collector was possessed.

Shepard stood, opening fire and hurling a Singularity. Jack hurled a Shockwave and a Collector crashed down beside David, who drove an omni-blade down into its head before letting the blade fade and standing, beginning to shoot the Collectors that remained. Three were in the singularity, and died quickly, one was burning, and one was aiming a beam rifle at him. He shot the one with the beam weapon in the face and it dropped. Then, he turned on the burning Collector as Jack and Shepard began to help, the three of them killing it in a few seconds.

"Damn," Jack said. "You're actually doing-"

She stopped as a platform hit theirs behind them only for David to sprint forward and dropkick one Collector into another, both falling off the platform, then tackle the last, beginnign to beat its face in with his rifle. Its face caved in after the third hit and he continued slamming his rifle down into it again and again.

"David!" Jack shouted. "David, it's dead!"

Another platform connected and David's head jerked up at the Scion on it. He shouted in rage, all thought of taking cover, or being careful, or surviving gone. He sprinted forward, leaping over the low wall where Shepard was taking cover, and one of the Scion's explosions slammed into his shields, obliterating them but not managing to hurt him, a testament to his shields' upgrades. Then, he was spraying the Scion as he continued to charge, vaulting over another wall without letting off. His rifle began to vent steam so he dropped it, using his omni-tool to form a glowing orange gauntlet and drilling his fist into the Scion's face, which was just off-center of the dark part of its body in the front. The Scion staggered away and fired, but David stepped to the side, then punched it again before ramming his shoulder into it, sending it over the edge of the platform. He snatched his rifle up off the ground as more platforms approached.

"David!" Shepard said, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Stand down! Now!"

David shoved him aside and opened fire on the Collectors, managing to drop one. Then, a blue beam of energy slammed into the platform to his right. He spun, firing up at the massive machine, which he remembered EDI naming a Praetorian, that was rapidly closing in on them, ignoring the beam that was rapidly sweeping toward him. Then, Jack crashed into his side, shoving him out of the way just before the a barrier blazed to life over her body and the beam slammed into it. The barrier held for half a second before the beam broke through, tearing across her back and hurling her into a low wall. She bounced over it and landed in cover. David stared at the burn stretching across her back before roaring in rage and standing, biotic energy flying off of him. He raised his hands, his rifle lying abandoned on the ground behind him, and the Praetorian was suddenly surrounded by biotic energy as well. Then, it shrieked in pain as its legs were tipped off, then its lower jaw, then the upper half and what remained of the body were ripped into three separate pieces. A Collector opened fire at David and he shouted in annoyance, swiping his arms toward the Collectors and sent the pieces of the Praetorian exploding into them, two of the legs impaling two Collectors, and the rest of the pieces knocking the Collectors off the platforms. Then, the biotic energy faded and David went down hard, being unconscious before his knees hit the floor.

"David!" Shepard shouted. "Shit! Jack, are you alive?"

"Yeah!" Jack grunted, struggling to drag herself to David, activating his omni-tool and having it scan him for life. "He's alive, but I think he'll be out for a while!"

"Fuck!" Shepard said. "Can you walk?"

"Not quickly," Jack said.

Shepard swore again, sighing and shaking his head as he reconnected EDI to the platform's control panel. "Did you get what we needed?"

"I found data that could help us successfully navigate the Omega Four Relay," EDI said as she took the platform to the ground. "I have also found the Turian distress call that served as the lure for this trap. The Collectors were the source. It is unusual."

"Seems logical to me that they would have sent the initial message as bait," Shepard said.

"No, it is unusual because the Turian emergency channels have secondary encryption," EDI said. "It is corrupted in the message. It is not possible that the Illusive Man would believe the distress call was genuine."

"Why are you so sure?" Shepard asked.

"I found the anomaly with Cerberus detection protocols," EDI said. "He wrote them."

"I _knew_ Cerberus would screw me over again," Jack said, then groaned, falling from almost standing back to her hands and knees.

"He knew it was a trap?" Joker asked. "Why would he send us into a trap?"

"Because he's a manipulative bastard who doesn't give two fucks about anyone but himself," David said, slowly pushing himself to his feet, swaying heavily before steadying himself. "The ship is powering up. We need to get out, now!"

"In case you didn't notice, I can't walk," Jack said.

David glanced at her and sighed. "I know. And that's my fault. Shepard. You need to carry her."

"Why?" Shepard asked.

"Because I'm not physically strong enough to," David said. "But I _can_ cover you on the way out."

Shepard nodded, lifting Jack onto his shoulders and taking her pistol as David activated his cloaking tech.

"Don't stop for anything!" David said. "Move!"

Shepard turned and ran along the path they were now at, David running with him, holding his Locust this time, his rifle once again on his back. As they ran, they rounded a corner to the right and EDI opened a door for them. They passed through it into a large chamber with a wall of glass ahead of them and the far side of the room a lower level than the one they were on. Collectors began to fly over and David sprinted on ahead, glad he had worked cardio with Jacob. He began to spray one of the Collectors with his Locust just as another landed in front of him in time to receive an omni-blade to the face. He ripped it out as the one he was shooting collapsed. He spun, sending an Incineration Blast into a pair of them, both of them shrieking in agony and staggering backward, tripping over a low wall and collapsing into a burning heap. A burning Collector began to fly over, firing at David, only for him to send a bolt out of his omni-bow into its chest, the bolt exploding into a splash of cryogenic fluid, freezing the Collector, which shattered on impact with the ground.

He turned, sprinting to catch up with Shepard, who had followed David's instruction to not stop. They went down a ramp on the left side to the lower level as more Collectors began to fly over, only for David to drop them with careful bursts to the face and Incineration Blasts, this time finishing them all before they could be possessed. As they were crossing the room, one landed on a raised stone platform on the right side and David spun, sending an omni-bow bolt into its face, dropping it instantly.

He turned, running ahead of Shepard and saw several Collectors land behind a low wall and crouch down. He sprinted forward, vaulting over the wall while forming himself a pair of omni-blades. His feet crashed into one of the three Collectors and smashed it into the ground as his blades stabbed into the other two Collectors' heads, slamming them to the ground as well before he stabbed the third. A Burning Collector stepped out, a ball of fire slamming into his shields and smashing them before it sprayed him with its gun. He shouted in pain, swinging an arm and ejecting his blade, sending it stabbing into the Collector's shoulder. Then, as it turned to shoot him again, he sprinted forward, sliding under its spray of bullets and stood, knocking the gun aside and stabbing it in the face.

A moment later, Shepard passed, glancing at the disintegrating Collector, and the human blood splattered across the low wall. "You still with me, David?"

"I'm here," David said, breathing heavily and resisting the urge to look down at his wounds.

Most of the shots hadn't penetrated his armor much, but one had punched through his side. He packed it with medi-gel to numb it and slow the bleeding and pushed himself to catch back up to Shepard. They reached a large hallway as EDI opened a door on the far end to the left. Several Husks ran out of it instantly and David sent an Incineration Blast into one, catching two more with the flames, then shot the last one with his Locust. As they were passing a low wall, a blue energy beam exploded into David, blasting straight through his shields and launching him into the wall before letting up. His armor was glowing red hot, and he shouted in agony, ripping it off before scrambling behind cover just as the beam crashed into the low metal wall he was behind, not damaging it the way it had the crates on Horizon.

Shepard began to shoot the machine suddenly, and the beam ended as the Praetorian turned to attack Shepard instead. David grabbed his rifle, glancing at the Locust on the ground beside Shepard just as Jack grabbed it for him. David stood, ignoring the agony of using his right arm, and used his omni-tool to launch a ball of electricity at the thing to weaken its shields before opening fire. It shields deflected the shots for a full mag, and the Praetorian turned back to him, only for Shepard to begin to spray it with his Collector Particle Beam. David stood once he had the chance and opened fire, aiming for the thing's eyes, which were what fired its beam, and after a moment, he'd shot both out and it shrieked, its front legs curling up to its face as blue energy exploded out of its side where the Collector beam had weakened it and melted partway through. Then, the thing collapsed, an explosion of blue flames shooting out of the hole in its side before the flames turned a normal orangish color. David put his rifle away and hurried over to the others, taking his Locust from Jack.

"You're hurt," Jack said, just before Shepard lifted her.

"Can you keep going?" Shepard asked.

"We're not out yet, so I don't have the option to stop," David said, turning invisible. "Keep running."

They sprinted to the door, but it closed before they could go through.

"EDI, we've got a problem here," Shepard said.

"A temporary setback on firewall three-two-one-seven," EDI said. "Rerouting commands through firewall seven-one-six-four. I have successfully opened a door on the opposite wall. I will keep it open for as long as I can."

They turned, hurrying through the door opposite the one that closed, and it slid closed behind them. David glanced to the right as they reached an intersection and saw a twenty foot drop with the tunnel they'd first entered through at the bottom.

"Left," David said. "We're almost there!"

They turned left and headed toward the end of the hallway where it turned right. A door opened for them and they entered a room with a raised section along the far side with a ramp leading up to it. There were low walls here and there, as with everywhere they went in the ship, and as with everywhere they went in the ship, Collectors began to arrive immediately. Fortunately, there weren't as many this time, at least at first. Only two flew down and landed in cover. David sprinted forward, still invisible, and vaulted over a low wall, beginning to shoot at one with a beam weapon, its barrier protecting it for a moment. However, just as it turned to fire back, Shepard managed to put two pistol shots in its back, distracting it just long enough for David to spray it in the face and kill it. The other Collector hot at where that one had been and two of its bullets punched into David's side, punching through his body suit in a spot where there was no extra plating. He grit his teeth, sucking in a breath to keep from screaming and spun, shooting it in the face and killing it. He wished he had time to get his shields working again, but he didn't. He wasn't even sure if he could without replacing parts after that Praetorian fried them in under a second.

They ran up the ramp and turned left around a metal wall, only to see a Scion. Both David and Shepard ducked back behind the metal wall just as the Scion fired, and when the explosions passed, David stepped back out, sending an omni-bow bolt into the blue thing. The bolt exploded, and a ball of super-heated blue plasma consumed the Scion before splattering to the ground with the Scion's corpse. Shepard continued, David limping along beside him, trailing blood that he hoped neither of the others noticed. They passed through an open door into a hallway with a right turn up ahead.

"Commander, I hate to rush you, but those weapons are about to come online," Joker warned. "Might want to double-time it. You know, so we can get out of here before they blow the Normandy in half."

The teo who were able to walk sped up, David quickly falling behind. However, as Shepard and Jack reached the corner, a dozen Husks swarmed around it. David swore, instantly knowing what he had to do. His cloaking tech deactivated and he sent a blast of electricity into one of the Husks. It emitted a high, piercing shriek as it collapsed into a spasming mess just as David set a hand on Shepard's shoulder, he and Jack turning invisible instantly. David shoved Shepard out of the swarm of Husks, toward the ramp leading down to the Shuttle. Shepard became visible again the moment David lost contact, but by then it was too late. He was stumbling down the ramp, unable to stop himself with Jack's weight carrying him forward. Then, the Husks swarmed the victim they still had. David managed to slash one of them with an omni-blade, but that was all he could do before he was at their mercy, their arms battering him with all the force of a shotgun loaded with beanbag rounds, which could still break bones. Their claws tore at him, even through his body suit, and one of them bit down into the side of his neck. He screamed, driving an omni-blade into its head before it could rip out his carotid artery, but he collapsed as on slashed the back of his knees.

This was it. He had gone in wanting something to take his anger out on, to vent his self-hatred by massacring Collectors. He had done that. He had done that so much, that he had blinded himself to everything, including danger. And for it, Jack had been hurt, saving him. He was simply paying the price for his actions.

* * *

Shepard and Jack reached the shuttle and Jack shoved Shepard away from it.

"Save him!" Jack pleaded. "Please! We can't leave him behind!"

"We're out of time, Commander!" Joker said. "We gotta go!"

David screamed, Jack staring at the mass of Husks, eyes wide with fear and desperation. Shepard grit his teeth before shoving Jack into the shuttle.

"I'm getting David!" Shepard said. "Take whatever evasive maneuvers you can!"

He turned, drawing his rifle as he sprinted toward the Husks. He hurled a Singularity, lifting the Husks off of David and shooting them quickly. More rounded the corner from the way they had come and he shot them rapidly as he stopped beside David. He was conscious, but his body had been borderline shredded. Shepard lifted him onto his shoulders and fired his rifle one-handed into a Husk as it neared them, then turned, sprinting back down the slope toward the shuttle. Collectors began to swarm down the slope behind them as well as out of the door to the left that they'd gone through when they arrived. Jack sent a Shockwave through the door, scattering that group, but the other opened fire. Two shots punched into David's back and he shouted in pain, another deflecting off Shepard's shields and punching through David's arm instead, David once again shouting in agony. Finally, Shepard collapsed onto the shuttle and it took off, streaking up to the Normandy and into the shuttle bay. However, as the Normandy began to pull away, the Collector ship began to turn, spinning faster than a ship that size had any rights to. Its main firing chamber began to light up, but just before it could fire, a ship sped past the Normandy, exploding into the main firing tube of the Collector ship, the ship blocking the initial beam of the Collector Ship's gun, giving the Normandy enough time to catch the escape pod that crashed into their shuttle bay before the bay doors closed, then begin to take evasive maneuvers to avoid the Collector Ship's fire. Finally, EDI jumped to FTL speeds and they left the Collector Ship behind.

"David!" Jack said as Shepard kicked the damaged shuttle door open. "Hang in there!"

As the door opened, Jane Shepard grabbed David, easily slinging him over her shoulders.

"What deck?" Jane asked.

"Three!" John said, picking up Jack and following her to the elevator, slipping in with Jack just before the doors closed.

A moment later, the two siblings sprinted to the medical bay and Jane gently set David on a medical table on his stomach so that Chakwas could treat the wounds in his back, since they were the worst, not that his front wasn't ripped to shreds as well.

"What happened?" Chakwas all but demanded as she struggled to slow the bleeding while trying to seal the wounds.

"He drew a swarm of Husks attention so we could escape," Jack said. "He was planning to sacrifice himself."

"Well, he failed," Chakwas said, using a laser to heat the medi-gel, sealing the wounds temporarily before rolling him over. "He's not dying today. Though he won't be able to be up and about for a while."

"As long as he lives, that's good enough," Shepard said. "Now, what are you all doing here?"

"As soon as David pointed out that it was probably a trap, Joker sent me a message, asking if we could spring for backup, just in case you needed it," Jane explained. "Unfortunately, now we need a new ship. Mind dropping us off at the Citadel?"

"Sure," Shepard said. "Can you handle this, Doctor?"

"Yes," Chakwas said, not looking away from her work for even a moment.

"Good," Shepard said. "I need to go and have a chat with the Illusive Man."

He stood, walking out of the room, Jane following.

* * *

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	15. Chapter 15

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

Slow Recovery

David's eyes creaked open and he looked around, seeing Jack sitting beside his bed. He sighed quietly, turning his head away from her and watching out the window as several crewmen chatted in the mess hall.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked.

"Fine," David said, sighing and looking back at her. "How's your back?"

"Healed," Jack said. "Burns are quick. Doctor Chakwas had me patched up in no time. She says it'll take you a bit longer."

David nodded. "What'd I miss?" David asked.

"Shepard's sister went back to that Asari scientist with her team of N-Sevens," Jack said. "Apparently, they're using the Shadow Broker's ship as a base of operations. We took some time off at Omega to get the Normandy repaired and for EDI to finish going through the Collector data. Apparently we need an IFF tag from a Reaper to get through, which there just happens to be a derelict one of. Shepard said we're not going to go after it until we're ready, so everyone's getting some personal shit taken care of. I will too, as soon as I find something I can use in those databases."

David nodded, glancing past Jack at the other bed only to stop as a white tattoo over the top of a black one on her left side caught his attention. He stared at it, frowning. It was covering the scar from the bullet wound she'd gotten on the Shadow Broker's ship, which he could understand, but it was what the tattoo was of that gave him pause. It was a satellite dish.

"That's new," David noted, Jack glancing down at the tattoo. "A satellite dish, huh? What is that...Overlord? What, you wanted to remember what Gavin Archer did to his autistic brother?"

"No," Jack said. "That was horrible. I got the tattoo because...it was the first time someone ever saved my life. It was the first time someone ever cared enough to."

"Yeah, Shepard's good like that," David said, turning his gaze back to the ceiling.

"I wasn't talking about Shepard," Jack said.

"He's the one that pulled you up," David said.

"So?" Jack asked. "_You're_ the one that caught me. If you hadn't done that, I'd have died long before Shepard could pull me up. _You're_ the one who saved my life, David. And I never really thanked you."

"Why should you have?" David asked, turning his head away so his eyes couldn't betray his emotions. "I was too weak to save you properly anyway. And even if I wasn't, I was being an idiot."

Jack was silent for a moment before speaking again. "I'm sorry for what I said. I was wrong."

"No you weren't," David said, narrowing his eyes at her. "Everything you said was correct."

"No it-"

"Yes it was!" David snapped, openly glaring at her as Chakwas walked out of the room. "I'm weak! I'm so much of a coward that I can't even go through a single fight without hiding under a desk unless I'm actively trying to get myself killed! I have _nothing_ to offer! And even if I did, all anybody ever cares about is themselves! No one gives two shits about anything else! The galaxy is a horrible, vile place, and everyone is better off alone! Shit like friends and love are just fairy tales we tell ourselves to help us sleep at night!"

Jack stared at him in surprise and regret. "Did I...really say all that?"

"Everything you said was true, Jack," David said. "I was just too stupid, and too afraid to see it."

"No!" Jack snapped, eyes watering slightly. "It wasn't true! I was just scared! That's why I said all of that! I'd never had anyone care about me, but you and Jentha did! And it terrified me! I...I saw the way you two were...I saw how much you two loved each other, and...and it made me want to believe that love might actually exist, and I couldn't handle that. I was jealous, and I was terrified that I might have been wrong this whole time. Because...then maybe some of the people I hurt...maybe some of them weren't actually...I couldn't handle the thought that maybe someone might actually care, because I couldn't bear the thought of thinking of someone as a friend, of...and if that person ever betrayed me, it would have broken me. So I was afraid. And I said...all of that stuff. but...it wasn't really true. None of it was. You're so much stronger than I am. You went through a Hell just as bad as mine. Worse, in some ways. And sure, maybe you're not charging headlong into fights, but only because you know how it could end. You're not a coward, you're smart enough to see the danger. But even when you're afraid, you still fight anyway. You choose to force yourself to fight, no matter how scared you are, because you actually care about the people around you, and you want them to be safe. That's what makes you strong. You fight for others even though you're afraid. I only fight because I want to. You're stronger than I could ever hope to be."

David watched her for a long while before sighing. "I'm not strong, Jack. The reason I turn invisible isn't so I can hide from enemies. It's so that my teammates, my friends, won't see me shaking. It's so they won't see how hard I have to work to keep from running away and abandoning them. How badly I tremble in a fight from fear."

"It doesn't matter," Jack said, taking his hand and smiling. "You fight anyway. That's why you're strong."

David stared at their hands for a long while before pulling his away. "I'm sorry. You were hurt because of me. I got turned down, so I began to try and drink myself to death. Then, when we went to the Collector ship, I was so desperate to use them as an outlet for my pain, and my self-hatred, that I didn't even pay attention to what was going on around me. And then, the more I fought, the less I wanted to make it back to the shuttle. I...I wanted to die fighting them. I wanted to die so that I could be with Jentha again. And my parents. And my friend that the Blue Suns killed."

"I never should have hurt you," Jack said. "I didn't mean to cause you so much pain. I was just afraid to know anyone could ever care about me. It scared me to let anyone get close to me, to let anyone in. And it scared me because...because I _wanted_ to let you in."

David looked up at her in surprise.

"Do...do you still...I mean...Can we..."

"No," David said, wishing he could give her a different answer. "I'm sorry, but I can't. I'll only get you hurt again. It's better that you be hurt a little now and have time to guard yourself again than for me to hurt you worse later."

Jack swallowed hard and nodded, wiping her eyes. "Okay. I'm...I'm sorry."

"I know," David said.

Just then, the door opened and Shepard stopped in the door, eyes widening slightly.

"I can come back," Shepard said.

"You're fine," David said, Jack nodding in agreement.

"Jack, are you good to go on a mission?" Shepard asked.

Jack nodded, standing. "I'll be back soon, alright?"

"Yeah," David said. "Good luck."

Jack nodded, smiling slightly before walking out of the room with Shepard. David sight, staring up at the ceiling for a few minutes before Chakwas walked in and gave him a dose of anesthetics for his wounds, allowing him to drift off to sleep.

* * *

David sat up, sighing and wincing as his sore muscles protested. Chakwas took off the last of the sensors and took out his IV, then began to give him a cursory examination one last time.

"Your wounds are healed finally," Chakwas said. "However, I'm warning Shepard not to take you out on a mission for another few days. And you should take it easy."

"I will," David said. "Thank you for saving me, Doctor."

"It's my job to save you fools when you get injured doing stupid stunts on missions, though yours was by far the most foolish," Chakwas said. "But you're welcome. Try not to end up in here again soon."

"I'll do my best," David smiled, leaving, getting some clean clothes and taking a shower before heading down to the Engineering Deck, finding Jack pacing.

He frowned. She had come back after her mission to help Miranda and Shepard save Miranda's sister from their father, but once she'd gone down to read the data pads the day before, she hadn't come back. And seeing her now, he could tell something was wrong. She was agitated. Somewhere between angry and troubled.

"Jack?" he asked. "Are you alright?"

"You're out!" Jack smiled. "That's good." Her smile faded back to her troubled expression as she walked past him to the stairs and sat down. "Sorry. I got a lot on my mind right now."

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I found the location of Pragia on a datapad," Jack said. "I...Fuck, I can't stop thinking about the experiments now!"

"Hey!" he said, walking over to her and taking her hands. "It's going to be okay. Cerberus can't hurt you anymore. What do you need?"

Jack watched him for a long moment before her gaze fell. "I want to destroy it. I want to go to the Teltin facility on Pragia. I want to deploy a big fucking bomb, and I want to watch from orbit when it blows. And...I want you to come. I want to have you there with me. I _need_ you there with me."

"Then I guess we know what we're doing," David smiled. "I'll go ask Shepard."

"No need," Shepard said, appearing on the stairs above them. "Chambers said you needed to talk to me. I suppose I know why now. We'll set a course for Pragia. But David, you're still on rest. You'll have to stay on the ship."

"No," David said. "I promised to help Jack, and I'm going to do it."

Shepard watched him for a moment before sighing. "Fine. It'll be a few hours before we get there. I'll have EDI let you know when we arrive."

David nodded and Shepard walked back up the stairs. David sat beside Jack, and glanced at her. "If you want to talk about it before we get there, you know I'll listen to anything you have to say."

Jack nodded, remaining silent for a while before speaking. "They tortured me daily. Drugged me. I was locked in my room. Only let out to test my biotics. They said it was something about pain breaking down mental barriers to make way for more biotic power, but I don't know." Her voice cracked a little. "All I remember is a scared little girl, alone in her cell, begging for the pain to stop."

"How did you get away?" David asked.

"There was some kind of emergency and I made a break for it," Jack said. "And then all the other kids got loose and attacked me. And the guards attacked me. I killed anything in my way. Guess my biotics developed faster than they thought. Once I got out of the facility, I managed to get a shuttle off the ground. I drifted until a freighter picked me up. The crew...used me, and then sold me."

David heard her voice crack as she said it and wrapped an arm around her. He expected her to push him off, but instead she turned into him, wrapping her arms around him tightly as she broke down into tears. He held her as tightly as she held him, comforting her as best he could. She had to have been worse than he thought to actually cry. Eventually, she managed to regain control and they remained sitting together until EDI called them to the armory.

* * *

David stared at the destruction. Everything was destroyed. The catwalk, the floor, the walls, the ceiling, the giant metal containers around the room. He knew Jack was strong, and that she fought her way alone past what was likely dozens of biotic children, but this was more damage than he expected. He glanced at her. She was going back and forth between scared, furious, and something of a mix between the two and something David could swear was regretful. David turned back to the front as a pair of Varren ran around the corner, only for the three of them to quickly kill them. They walked around the metal containers forming a wall in front of them and into a broken ring of cement barriers, most of which were broken. David frowned, looking around at them.

"This is an arena," David said.

"That's right," Jack said. "They used to stage fights here. Pit me against other kids. I loved it. Only time I was ever out of my cell."

"What were they studying?" Shepard asked.

"Hell if I know," Jack said. "Maybe that's how they got their kicks. I never understood anything that happened here."

"It was a progress check," David guessed. "They wanted to monitor the development of your biotics. And probably train you to be a living weapon for Cerberus."

"How often did they do this?" Shepard asked.

"I was in a cell my whole life," Jack said. "Sometimes they took me out and made me fight. Filled me with drugs. Other stuff. Time gets funny in a cell."

"If they were anything like Roman Lance, probably once a month," David said. "I wasn't his only experiment subject. Just the only one to get special attention."

"Did other children die in these fights?" Shepard asked.

"I was a kid filled with drugs," Jack said. "I got shocked when I hesitated. Narcotics flooded my veins when I attacked. Goes along with your theory about turning me into a living weapon."

"They actually rewarded you for attacking?" Shepard asked, appalled.

"I still get warm feelings during a fight," Jack said.

"What the Hell was wrong with those people?" Shepard almost shouted.

"I don't know," Jack shrugged. "Doesn't matter now."

"We should keep moving," Shepard sighed. "We came here to blow this place up, right?"

"Hell yes!" Jack agreed.

They walked through a door beside the arena and down a hallway to the left. They stopped by security terminal where there was a recording of a guard talking about a riot being in danger of setting Jack loose. Jack didn't remember it that way, but she didn't stop to debate it long. She just wanted to blow the place up and be done with it. However, through the next door was a staircase with a pair of freshly-killed Varren at the bottom.

"That's a fresh kill," Jack noted.

"Someone else is here," David said. "Might be scavengers."

"Be ready for anything," Shepard said.

They continued down the stairs and through the next door into a large open room with storage crates here and there. However, as soon as they stepped into it, Blood Pack mercs, mostly meaning Vorcha, began to step out and fire at them. All three ducked into cover and David swallowed hard, trying to still his hand's trembling for a moment. Jack, who had taken cover beside him, took his hand for a moment, giving him a knowing look.

He smiled and nodded, then winked out of sight, leaving cover carefully and beginning to move up as he drew his rifle. After a moment, he sent an Incineration blast into a Blood Pack Pyro before quickly shooting several basic troopers. Just as he ducked, the Pyro's flame-thrower overheated, the fuel tanks on his back exploding. The blast caught two Heavies, throwing them both into the wall where Jack shot them while Shepard moved up, quickly killing the last three Vorcha. A Krogan stepped out as Shepard dropped the last one, but the moment it did, David, who it happened to step out beside, shouted in surprise and fear, launching himself away only to accidentally set off a biotic explosion where he'd been, launching the Krogan out the window behind it and down three stories to the ground where it died on impact. A few seconds later, David groaned, slowly pushing himself up as Jack reached him, helping him stand.

"You alright?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," David sighed. "I'm just not a fan of my biotics."

"I'll try and teach you to control them whenever we're at Omega next," Jack said. "Maybe I can help."

"Maybe," David said. "Come on. We shouldn't let a few Blood Pack mercs stop us."

"Nothing is going to stop me," Jack said.

They continued through the facility in silence. After a couple of doors, they reached a set of stairs with a floor ahead of them across the gap the stairs opened. A pair of Vorcha stepped out to kill them, but Shepard killed them both instantly. The others continued down the stairs, passing rows of cells and killing a couple more Varren before continuing. Through the next door was a catwalk with a mirror on the far side of the room that was so dirty it was just black.

"This...it's a two-way mirror?" Jack asked, staring at it. "My cell is on the other side. I could see all the other kids out here. I screamed at them for hours, and they always ignored me."

"Maybe it's sound-proof," David said. "They might not have heard you at all."

"Maybe," Jack said, staring at the ground.

"You okay?" David asked. "We can always leave if you'd prefer."

"No," Jack said. "I have to do this. Otherwise I'll never be free."

"Okay," David nodded. "Come on."

Jack nodded and they continued walking. Through the next door was a room shaped into a "U" with an experimentation table, complete with metal arm restraints, to the left, and another security console to the right. The recording on it was a doctor talking about experiments dying, and about not using the drug that killed them on Jack. She wasn't impressed by the video, but as with the last recording, she didn't want to discuss it. She was worried by another recording, this one of a scientist saying they were going to the Alliance's Ascension Program, but Shepard assured her that it was only a school for Biotic children, and that nothing like what happened at the Teltin Facility happened at the school. Jack accepted his promise, and decided she wanted to hurry up and get to her cell. However, in the next room, they found more Blood Pack. Half a dozen Vorcha, two Krogan mercs, and a Krogan Battlemaster, distinguished from the other two Krogan by his silver armor with red lights, rather than the blood red armor of the Blood Pack.

"Hey Aresh, it's Kureck," the Krogan Battlemaster said into his communicator. "Yeah, the intruders are here. You want them dead, we have to talk creds. You promised us lots of salvage, but this place is a waste!" He raised a hand to his ear as someone responded. "Fine, we'll put 'em down. Then I'm coming in there and we're going to talk salvage!"

"What are you doing here?" Shepard asked.

"First we're gonna kill you, then we'll see!" Kureck said, drawing his shotgun.

David and the others dove for cover and began to lean out to shoot when they could. David remained where he was for the moment as well, trying to control his fear, rather than hiding behind his cloaking tech like always. After a moment, Shepard hurled a Singularity and caught two of the Vorcha, which David killed instantly. Jack sent out a Shockwave and killed two more. David glanced at the Krogan and saw one of the two in red moving to a ramp off to the right, moving to flank them, and sent an omni-bow bolt into its shoulder, the bolt exploding into flames. The Krogan screamed in agony as it fell through the ramp's railing and crashed down on one of the last two Vorcha, both butning to death in moments. The last Vorcha aimed at David as he was still leaning out, but Jack shot him in the head, killing him as Shepard was shooting the other Krogan in red armor. David took a deep breath and stood to shoot Kureck, only for him to explode through the overturned metal table they'd been hiding behind, smashing David away and grabbing Jack by the throat, slamming her into the wall. David swore, pushing himself up as Kureck pulled Jack away from the wall and slammed her into it again. Desperation flooded David and he focused, praying he could get it right, then shoved a hand at Kureck, launching a Warp. The Warp exploded into his back and he shouted in pain, dropping Jack and stumbling to the side before David and Shepard both began to spray him for several seconds until they were sure he was dead. David turned and sprinted over to Jack, just as she began to push herself up. She sighed, smiling slightly.

"You managed to keep control that time," Jack smiled.

"I didn't want to blow you up by accident," David said.

Jack smiled, accepting David's help up to her feet before looking to the only door out of the room. "Only my cell's left. Whoever Aresh is, he'll be in there."

David and Shepard nodded and they walked through the door, finding themselves in a hallway, ending in the door to Jack's cell. They opened the door and Shepard ordered Aresh to step out.

"Who are you?" Jack demanded.

"My name is Aresh, and you're breaking into my home," the guy said. "I know you, Subject Zero. So many years have passed, and I thought I was the only survivor."

"My name is Jack," Jack corrected him. "How the Hell do you know me?"

"We all knew your face, Jack," Aresh said. "They inflicted horrors on us so their experiments wouldn't kill you. You were the question, and I'm still looking for the answer."

"It's not an answer you want," David said, glancing at Jack. "He was drawn back here, too."

"I tried to forget this place, but a place like this...it doesn't forget you," Aresh said, pointing at his head. "It follows you. I hired these mercs and came back here almost a solar year ago. We're rebuilding it, piece by piece. I'm going to find out what they knew. How to unlock true biotic potential in humans. I'm restarting the Teltin Facility. It will be beautiful."

"I wanted a hole in the ground!" Jack said. "He's trying to justify what happened by using it!"

"He can't," David said. "He's not a scientist. And beyond that, he has no means of collecting biotic children, biotic enhancing drugs, or anything else he'd need. He's trapped in the past, that's all. He can't restart anything once we blow it up, anyway."

"Good point," Jack said.

"That still leave him," Shepard said. "What do we do with another you?"

"That's easy," Jack said.

"Just leave me here," Aresh said. "This is where I belong."

"Fuck that!" Jack said, hitting him with a weak biotic punch, just enough to drop him to his knees while she aimed at his head.

"Wait," David said. "You don't need to kill him, Jack."

"The fuck I don't!" Jack said.

"Jack, he's trapped in his past, just like you are," David said. "I told you, he can't restart this place no matter how much he may want to. He just can't escape it. But you can. You can let go of this place. You already lost your childhood to this place. Don't let it control your life any longer. You can let him go, blow this place up, and that'll be the end of it. you just have to let go."

Jack glared down at Aresh for a long moment before gritting her teeth. "Fuck! Get out of here! Go!"

Aresh took off running and Jack put her pistol away, sighing heavily.

"You see?" David asked. "You _can_ let go."

"Yeah, I guess I can," Jack said, smiling slightly before it fell away. "This room was my whole childhood. Give me a minute to look around."

"Go ahead," Shepard said.

"Nothing's changed," Jack said. "But everything's different."

"You're the one that's different, Jack," David said.

"Maybe," Jack mumbled, walking away, toward the hallway, stopping at the door and staring at a bloodstain on the wall. "That was where I killed my first man. A guard tried to stop me. Instead, I stopped him." She looked back into the room, gravitating to the bed, David following her. "Sometimes I dream that I'm back in this bed being tortured. I used to tie the sheets around my wrists and try to rip them off. I want to stop coming back here."

"You will," David promised.

Jack sighed, looking to the window, David able to see the catwalk from before outside it. "I thought that room out there was the rest of the world. I'd pound and yell. Never did any good." Her eyes swept around the room and settled on a desk. She walked over to it, trailing her fingers over the top of it. "I used this table for everything. It was my only friend. I'd crawl under it to cry. It always made me feel even more alone."

David set a hand on her shoulder, Jack turning her head slightly. "You're not alone anymore Jack. Even if nothing else, you'll always have me."

Jack broke almost instantly, turning and stepping into him. David wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder as she struggled not to actually sob, simply allowing her tears to flow as she squeezed David like she was terrified he'd disappear, which he realized she really was. He held her tighter, tucking his face into the side of her neck.

"I will never betray you, and I will always be here for you," David murmured.

Jack took a shuddering breath and nodded, remaining in his arms for a couple more moments before pulling back and wiping her eyes. "Thank you. Okay. I'm ready. Let's blow this place to Hell."

David nodded and looked to Shepard, who set the nuclear warhead he'd brought down, arming it and syncing it to a remote detonator, which he gave to Jack. They all headed back up to the shuttle and the pilot took off, flying away from the facility quickly. As they flew, Jack flicked the detonator's cap open and closed over and over. Finally, once they were at minimum safe distance, she looked up at Shepard, pressing the switch. He nodded, pounding on the door to the cockpit to warn the pilot before she let off, setting the bomb off. The explosion jolted the shuttle hard, sending it surging forward, almost throwing Shepard out of his seat to the ground, and throwing Jack to the side insto David, who hit the door and went nowhere, catching Jack. Once the concussion had passed, Jack settled onto his shoulder, David wrapping his arms around her and resting his cheek on top of her head. They stayed like that until they got back to the Normandy. David took Jack's weapons to the armory and stripped off his armor just before Kasumi appeared beside him.

"Jack's heading to have a 'chat' with Miranda," Kasumi warned him.

"Oh shit," David groaned, hurrying to the elevator and meeting Shepard on the way.

Once they reached the Crew Deck, David printed to Miranda's office, arriving as the two were having a screaming match.

"What's going on?" David asked as Shepard reached the office.

"The cheerleader won't admit what Cerberus did to me was wrong!" Jack accused.

"What? How could you possibly defend what happened there!?" David demanded

"It wasn't Cerberus," Miranda said. "Not really. But clearly you were a mistake."

"You self-glorified cunt!" David spat. "You have no _idea_ the kind of Hell that type of experimenting is! You were _created_ with powerful biotics! You could never understand! And I don't care if that cell went rogue or not! It _was_ Cerberus! The same organization that recruited the man who tortured me!"

Miranda glared at him. "I can say this much for the Teltin Facility. They may not be Cerberus, and I may not be defending them, but at least they succeeded. At least Jack can _control_ her biotics. Unlike you, she's not a time bomb."

"Fuck you!" Jack spat, hurling a chair at Miranda with her biotics, Miranda using her own to deflect them. "You have _no_ right!"

"You're both a danger to this team and this mission!" Miranda spat. One of you is a psychopath who's likely to kill us all for fun, and the other is equally likely to blow up the ship on accident! Both of you were a mistake who should have been put down years ago!"

David took a step forward, hand curling into a fist and pulling back, only for Shepard to catch his wrist.

"That's enough!" Shepard snapped. "Our mission is too important to let personal feelings get in the way!"

"Fuck your feelings!" Jack said. "I just want her dead!"

"Seconded!" David snarled.

"You _all_ know what we're up against!" Shepard said. "David, you know better than anyone! Do you really want _anyone_ on this team to be so angry that they can't think clearly when we fight the Collectors next?"

David glared at him, but it faded slowly before he sighed. "No. No I don't want that."

Shepard released him and he stood, watching Shepard for a moment before he and Jack left the room. They headed back down to their spot in Engineering and David sighed, Jack sitting on the bench beside him and resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Cerberus recruited Roman Lance?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," David said. "I found it in one of the datapads."

"I'm sorry," Jack said.

"It's alright," David said. "He can't hurt me now."

"He'd have to go through me," Jack said.

David smiled and Jack pulled him into a hug, David sighing and returning it, giving Jack a comforting squeeze as he felt her begin to cry from pent up emotions and the relief of finally being free of Pragia.

* * *

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	16. Chapter 16

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

Training

David yawned, opening his eyes and realizing that he wasn't lying alone on the floor like he usually did. Instead, he was on the bench where Jack usually slept, and the formerly mentioned biotic convict was currently wrapped in his arms, her own around him as well. He wasn't really sure he remembered going to sleep, especially not cuddling Jack. he remembered holding her while she cried, but actually laying down and going to sleep eluded him.

He frowned. He wasn't sure he wanted Jack to wake up cuddled into his chest. There was a good chance she'd freak out, which would end badly for him. However, before he could consider trying to slip his arm out from under him, her arms tightened around him.

"You put my arm to sleep," she murmured sleepily.

"Sorry," he replied, smiling at the fact that she wasn't killing him.

"No you're not," Jack accused, smirking. "You love being able to hold a half-naked girl in your arms. Or is that just morning wood?"

David's face flushed scarlet instantly. "U-Uh...th-that's..."

Jack chuckled. "Relax, Pipsqueak. I'm not mad. I've been with enough guys to know how that particular piece works."

"Right," David said, the color slowly fading from his cheeks. "Could you not call me Pipsqueak please? I'm not that short."

Jack laughed. "Alright, String Bean. If that's what you want, Skeletor. Your wish is my command, Twiglet."

"Alright already!" David laughed. "I get it! I'm skinny!"

Jack smirked. "Yes you are. Although, you _have_ gotten a bit more padding since you started working out with Jacob."

"Uh...thank you," David said, not sure how to respond.

After a couple of moments of silence, Jack sighed heavily. "Thank you."

"For what?" David asked.

"Everything really," Jack said. "You've...you've made my life...fun since I got out of Purgatory. You've made it something I actually _want_ to continue, rather than something I'm just waiting for an ending to. No matter what happened, you were there for me. And I hurt you, and tried to push you away. And in the end, even as hurt as you were, you were still ready to give your life so I could escape the Collectors' ship. So...thank you. Thank you for being there for me. Thank you for being my first true friend. Maybe my _only_ true friend."

"Not your only," David said. "If we survive this mission, I'll force you to be nice so you can have other friends."

Jack laughed. "Good luck. I'm not exactly a people person."

"I've noticed," David laughed.

Jack smacked him in the shoulder and pushed herself up, sighing and stretching. David watched her, mind automatically admiring the beauty that everyone missed when they judged her based her abrasive personality, or her history. But he could see it. From things as obvious as her beautiful face or her beautiful tattoos to things like the meaning of the maybe fifteen percent of her tattoos he'd learned, the way her entire face seemed to light up when she smiled, which she didn't do often, and her light chocolate brown eyes, which seemed lighter, almost golden brown, from closer. He loved being able to see her like this. Calm. Content. Unguarded. Not fully open, but more so than around anyone else.

She looked down at him and arched an eyebrow, smirking. "See something you like?"

"Maybe," David shrugged.

Jack's smirk grew into a challenging grin as she leaned down. "And what would that be?"

David opened his mouth to respond, only for EDI's voice to interrupt.

"Commander Shepard needs you in the armory for a mission, Jack," EDI said.

Jack glanced up at the underside of the floor, then turned her attention back to David. "I think he can wait a minute."

"You should go," David said, sitting up and sighing.

"What?" Jack asked, brow furrowing.

"After yesterday, you're probably on thin ice," David said.

"Fuck him!" Jack said, not receiving an answer right away.

"You need to go," David said.

Jack watched him for a moment before standing. "Fine."

She walked away and Jack sighed, waiting for ten minutes before heading up to the bar and getting himself a glass, pouring something into it from the first bottle he grabbed, drinking it.

"I thought you were done with that," Kasumi said.

"So did I," David said, draining the glass. "I think I'm just here to pass the time."

"You think?" Kasumi asked, raising an eyebrow. "Okay. Come with me, then."

David glanced at her before following her to Life Support. David frowned as she sat on the edge of the desk in front of Thane. Then looked up at her before twisting around to look up at David.

"Ah, David, welcome," Thane greeted him. "Please, come in. Sit."

David walked to the chair opposite him and sat, looking between the two of them, not feeling the least bit comfortable. "What's going on?"

"After the death of my wife, I became...disconnected for years," Thane said. "I was lost reliving some of my memories while my body acted on instinct, hunting down my wife's killers, and many other criminals. While I did it, I pushed those I had left away."

"What, and you think that's what I'm doing?" David asked.

"You don't have a Drell's memory, but your graybox allows you to relive a memory more vividly than a normal human," Thane said. "You drink multiple bottles a day, and while you do, you use your graybox to relieve happier memories over and over, leaving yourself blind to those around you who care, and who do not wish to see you suffer as you are. I may not know you well, but Kasumi has asked me to help. I will give you something to occupy your time besides drinking or reliving memories."

"What?" David asked.

"I will teach you to fight," Thane said. "To defend yourself without the use of a weapon. And I will teach you to be an assassin."

"I think I can handle that one," David said.

"Can you?" Thane asked, picking up a marker. "Mark me."

David accepted it, looking between it and Thane for a moment before turning invisible. He took a silent step to his right, getting himself at an odd angle, then crouched, jabbing the marker forward to mark his torso from below. Instead, Thane grabbed his wrist, twisting sharply and catching the marker before quickly and expertly taking David to the ground, chest first, as David yelped in surprise. Once David was down, Thank knelt on his back, drawing a line up the right side of his neck to simulate killing him, all the while holding David's arm at a painful angle with only his left hand.

"Your cloaking tech is impressive, but you rely on it too much," Thane said, letting David up. "It's not perfect, and anyone trained to pay attention will be able to detect you."

David nodded. "Okay. When do we start?"

"We already have," Thane said. "Thank you for bringing him here, Kasumi. You may go."

Kasumi nodded and left. David sighed, turning to Thane and Thane began, starting with basic martial arts.

* * *

David dropped off the pullup bar and began to do squats, Jacob smirking knowingly as he was cleaning a shotgun. "Don't give me that look."

"I'm not giving you any look," Jacob said, still smirking.

"Mhm," David grumbled, switching to pushups. "Sure you're not."

Jacob laughed and continued cleaning his gun, David continuing to workout according to Jacob's plan for him. After about another hour, Jack, Shepard, and Mordin returned from their mission, whatever it was, and put their gear away, Shepard and Mordin paying David no mind. Jack paused beside him, watching for a moment.

"Can we talk when you get done?" Jack asked.

"Sure," David said.

Jack nodded and left. David continued to work out for another two hours before Jacob finally let him leave, his body thoroughly exhausted. He headed back to the Engineering Deck and found Jack seated on the bench, reading a datapad again. She looked up at him, setting the datapad aside, as he walked over.

"What happened this morning?" Jack asked. "No, actually, what's been happening since the Collector ship? First you said you liked me, then you turned me down when I wanted to try letting you in, then this morning it seemed like you had changed your mind, but then changed it again once EDI interrupted. What the fuck's going through your head? You just messing with me? Trying to pay me back for hurting you by playing with my head?"

"I'm sorry," David said. "I didn't mean to confuse you, or cause you any trouble. I just...I _do_ care about you, Jack. But I turned you down because...you weren't willing to try because you felt the same. You just felt guilty. And then this morning, it seemed like you were just fooling around, or you were just looking for some fun. That's not what I want. I don't want anything casual, or meaningless. I care about you too much for that."

"What if that wasn't what I was after?" Jack asked.

"Was it?" David asked.

Jack didn't respond and David nodded.

"I'll wait," David said. "I'm sorry if that upsets you at all, but I'm going to wait until you're sure..._if_ you decide that's what you want."

Jack nodded. "Okay. I...I'll think about it. For real. I just...need time."

"I know," David said. "Take as much time as you need. I'm not going anywhere."

Jack nodded. "If...I decide I don't want...anything...will you leave?"

"No," David said, flashing her a small smile. "We're still friends. You need at least one friend with you to keep you out of trouble."

Jack smiled, nodding. "Okay. I think I can manage carrying your weight for a while, Twiglet."

David grimaced. "Really? Twiglet?"

"You didn't like Pipsqueak," Jack shrugged, smiling.

David shook his head, then leaned back against a strut, resting his chin on his chest and quickly drifting off to sleep.

* * *

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	17. Chapter 17

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

Waiting On An Answer

David walked down into his and Jack's space under the floor, only to raise an eyebrow as he saw Jack had moved. She was sitting on a storage crate off to one side, near the wall separating them from the drive core. He opened his mouth to ask what she was doing but she held a finger to her lips, beckoning him over. he walked over to join her and she pulled him down onto the crate beside her just as Tali's voice registered in his ears, just barely audible.

"Something's going on," Jack whispered. "I think she's in trouble or something."

David raised his arm, his omni-tool appearing before he typed for a moment on it, the omni-tool amplifying Tali's voice, though not loud enough for anyone other than them to notice.

"-idea why you're accusing you?" Shepard was asking, Jack and David sharing a confused look.

"None," Tali said. "The specifics of charges like this are rarely discussed on open channels. I won't know any more until I get to the Flotilla."

"How often is someone from the Fleet charged with Treason?" Shepard asked, Jack and David glancing at each other in surprise.

"It's rare," Tali said. "It must be something that affects the entire Flotilla, not just one ship. The most recent one was Anora'Vanya vas Selani, an engineer who handed over Fleet defense schematics to the Batarians. She had good intentions. The Batarians were contracted to upgrade our systems. But they passed the defense schematics to a pirate gang."

"Was she convicted?" Shepard asked.

"No," Tali said. "She made a suicide run on the pirate gang. She destroyed them before they could attack the Fleet. She was pardoned...posthumously. Let's hope I don't have to prove my innocence that way."

"There's no way Shepard would allow that," David said quietly. "Right?"

Jack shrugged. "Depends on whether or not he wants her on the crew."

David was about to respond when Shepard spoke again.

"Okay, let's go find the Flotilla," Shepard said.

"I was going to book passage on another ship," Tali said. "I didn't think there would be time for you to help. Thank you Shepard."

"Of course there's time for me to help, Tali," Shepard said. "I'll always make time for you."

David raised an eyebrow at Jack, who was moving one finger on her right hand in and out of a circle made by her thumb and index finger on the other hand. He restrained a laugh, shaking his head.

"U-Um...I'll...program the Normandy with the Flotilla's current location," Tali was saying, obviously flustered after what Shepard said, or maybe something he did that they couldn't see. "The Admirals will be waiting for us."

David deactivated his omni-tool, shaking his head. "I think our Commander might have a crush."

"You don't say," Jack snorted.

David sat down over where they had been, noticing all of the datapads were cleared out of the way. He sighed, staring at the floor. He wasn't really sure what to do with himself. After a moment, Jack sat beside him, watching him curiously.

"What are you thinking about?" Jack asked.

"Right now, I'm trying to decide what to do," David said, leaning back against a strut. "I just finished working out with both Jacob and Thane, my guns are about as good as they're going to be any time soon."

"Well, we could have a drinking competition," Jack suggested.

David grimaced. "I think I'm done drinking for a while. Besides, I think that would probably be a bad idea for a few reasons. Mostly because I'm not sure I'd be able to keep myself under control."

Jack's gaze fell to the floor and she nodded. "Well, I could always tell you about more of my tattoos. You seemed to enjoy those stories."

David nodded, smiling. "Sure. If you don't mind, I'd love to hear about it."

Jack nodded, a small smile adorning her lips as she looked down, deciding which tattoo to start with.

* * *

David laughed as Kasumi finished one of her funnier stories about her life as a thief, namely one about replacing a priceless object with a dildo, just to mess with the guy she was stealing from. Jack laughed as well, nodding.

"Alright, I'll admit, that's not a bad trick," Jack said, thinking. "I think the funniest thing you guys would actually see the humor in was...me and a gang I was running with were about to make our move on a ship we were robbing. One filled with rich people, except with some decent security. We had it all planned out and were about to take the security down with no casualties, and then one of the dumbasses farted and alerted the security guard that he was sneaking up on him. The security guard got a shot off before he died, and we ended up losing about half of us in the fight."

David shook his head. "Of all the things to go wrong."

"No kidding," Jack nodded.

"Oh, I've got it!" Kasumi said. "There was the time with the glue."

"Oh, this aughta be good," Jack grinned.

* * *

David lay down, yawning, only for his eyes to widen as Jack sat beside him.

"Do you mind?" Jack asked.

David shook his head, moving his arm out of the way and Jack lay down, resting her head on his shoulder, one hand resting on his bare chest. He had gone without his shirt because it was too hot with it on, but as they lay there, Jack's fingers traced a scar on his chest, one of the few left from the Collector Ship. After a couple minutes, David's free hand moved up, catching hers and holding it from the outside. Jack's fingers closed around his and she smiled slightly.

"You've saved me twice, you know," Jack said. "Thank you for being so patient. I...I know you're waiting for me to come up with an answer still. I just...want to be sure. I've never...I don't know if I really..."

"I know," David said, giving her hand a light squeeze while tightening his other hand around her. "Take as long as you need, Jack. Like I said, I'll always be with you, so there's no rush."

"You can't make that promise," Jack said. "We might both die when we go through that relay after the Collectors. You can't promise me that you'll always be there."

"But I do," David said. "I swear to you. I will be by your side for as long as you'll let me stay."

Jack stared at him, eyes watering, before tucking her face into his chest. "Dammit. I hate it when you do that. I hate it when you make me cry like some weak pussy."

"You're not weak for crying, Jack," David said. "You're just human."

Jack ducked her head further and he smiled, squeezing her gently before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

* * *

"Are you sure you want _me_ for this?" David asked. "I can understand Tali going, but...me? I mean...it's a derelict Reaper. Shouldn't you take one of the powerhouses, like Grunt, Jack, or Miranda?"

"Your skill with tech makes _you_ a powerhouse," Shepard said. "And besides that, aside from Pragia, you haven't been on a mission since the Collector ship. It's time to see if that training Thane and Jacob have been putting you through has been worth it."

David groaned but nodded. "Alright."

Shepard nodded and left, David heading to the armory. As he finished putting his armor on, Jack stepped into the room.

"You're going?" Jack asked. "But it's a derelict Reaper! Shouldn't he take one of the powerhouses?"

"I made the same argument, but he was certain what he wanted," David said, sighing. "I should probably go."

"Already?" Jack asked. "What, no goodbye if I hadn't found you?"

"I was going to stop on the way," David said. "But then you came up here instead."

Jack nodded, staring at the ground for a moment before hugging him. "Please be careful."

"I will," David said. "I promise, I'll see you again in a couple hours at most."

"I'll hold you to that," Jack said, reaching forward and kissing him on the cheek. "Good luck."

"Thanks," David smiled, grabbing his guns.

"David," Jack said as he was about to leave, making him look back at her. "I'll have an answer for you after the mission."

David nodded, smiling. "Then there's no way I'll die on this one."

Jack smiled and nodded, and David left the armory, heading to the airlock.

* * *

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	18. Chapter 18

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

Reaper

David opened the door and the first thing to greet them was the dried bloodstain on the wall and the bloody, unrecognizable corpse below it. He knelt, grimacing. "I recognize the gashes. He was mauled by Husks."

"Terrific," Shepard sighed. "Be ready for anything."

"There better not be collectors here," David grumbled.

They walked down the hallway in silence. The area they were in had bright white walls and new tech. It was an airlock structure built for Cerberus supply ships to dock at the derelict Reaper, and there were computers with video logs in them along the way. One had an officer talking about the crew being nervous, and about feeling like the walls were pressing in on him. Another was a talking about the head scientist staring at samples and apparently saying he was listening to them. After a few minutes, they passed into another airlock, only for the ship to suddenly jerk, nearly knocking everyone off their feet.

"Normandy to shore party," Joker radioed.

"What just happened?" Shepard asked.

"The Reaper put up kinetic barriers," Joker said. "I don't think we can get through from our side."

"So...it's alive still," David said, then sighed. "Great."

"Agreed," Tali said. "As curious as I am about Reapers, I'd rather not be trapped inside one."

"We'll have to take down the barrier generators from in here," Shepard said as David was scanning a computer nearby, which was connected to power cables coming from the Reaper. "Any idea where they are?"

"Oh fuck," David groaned. "I found them. You're not going to like it."

"Why?" Shepard asked.

"It's the Reaper's Mass Effect Core that's sustaining the barriers," David said. "It's _also_ sustaining our altitude."

"So when we take the barriers down to escape, the wreck falls into the planet core," Shepard said, Tali groaning.

"And that means everyone dies, yeah, I got it," Joker said.

"If any helmsman can pull us off this thing before it reaches crush depth, it's you," Shepard said. "We'll make a sweep for survivors and recover what data we can. Stand by."

"Aye aye," Joker said. "Good hunting."

Shepard opened the next door and they walked into the Reaper itself. Black metal pipes and struts, black steel grating floor, massive open tunnels in every direction with the only floors essentially being catwalks, mutilated corpses lying scattered here and there, some form of gloom obscuring everything from sight down the tunnels. Just what David would expect, just with less Husks.

"So, Tali," David said. "You've been with Shepard a while, right?"

"I have," Tali nodded.

"Does he ever take the crew somewhere nice?" David asked. "Like a beach resort? Or a bar that isn't Afterlife?"

Tali laughed. "No. I think the nicest place we ever visited was Earth's moon, during which mission, we were being shot at by a rogue VI that controlled an army of security drones."

"Lovely," David said. "Guess I shouldn't expect martinis and a spa day anytime soon, then, huh?"

Tali laughed again. "If you ever manage to convince Shepard to go to a spa, or drink a martini, take a picture for me."

"Uh, I'll take one too, if that's okay," Joker agreed.

"No one's taking my picture in a spa," Shepard said. "Another computer."

David quickly hacked in and they watched a security feed of two workers remembering being the groom in the exact same wedding, marrying the same girl, one who, according to both of their memories, was hit on by the best man at a different wedding and kicked him down the church steps.

"Oh lovely," David said. "So now even our memories aren't safe."

"Yours are," Shepard said. "You have a graybox."

"True," David said. "Wonder how long they were here before this video."

"Probably a few days," Shepard said. "Let's go. I'd like to get out of here before that happens to us."

David nodded and they turned to keep walking, only for the hoarse, weak roar of a Husk to ring out, a dozen of them beginning to climb over the sides of the catwalk. David swore, flashing out of sight instantly and feeling his body burn in the places it had been wounded. He grit his teeth, gripping his Locust tightly to still his hands' trembling and slowly the burning began to fade.

"There are high-pressured tanks by the husks," Tali said calmly. "Do you want me to blow them up?"

"I've got it," David said, swallowing hard.

The Husks reached the first pair of explosive barrels on the left side and David shot one of the two, both of them erupting into a massive explosion, obliterating most of the Husks. Two of them slammed into another pair of explosive containers just as more scrambled over the side, rushing past the explosives, only for another shot from David to blow them up as well, blasting them all apart. David waiting, eyes scanning the smoke for movement as it began to thin, but once it was cleared, there were no Husks left standing.

"That worked better than I expected," David said.

"Not bad," Shepard said. "That was ea-"

"Don't jinx us, Commander," David said. "Please."

Shepard nodded. "Good point. Let's keep moving."

They turned to continue down the path just as several burning, red Husks climbed onto the catwalk, charging at them. David shot one in the face and it exploded.

"Shit!" David yelped. "What the fuck!?"

"They explode!?" Tali demanded, shooting one with her shotgun and getting a similar result.

"I fucking _hate_ Husks!" David shouted, blasting the last one with a ball of cryogenic fluid from his omni-tool's fabricator, only for the ice to turn into projectiles, slamming into their shields but not breaking through. "Not doing _that_ again."

"Everyone okay?" Shepard asked.

"I'm alright," Tali said.

"I'm not getting close to any Husks from now on," David said.

Shepard and Tali both agreed and they continued along the catwalk. They neared a left turn where a massive bundle of cables rose from the center of the catwalk just as two Husks stepped out of it, only for their heads to burst into paste, both collapsing.

"Sniper!" David warned.

"Someone's alive here?" Shepard asked. "Be careful. They may be indoctrinated."

"I'm going to stay invisible now," David said, winking out of sight. "That shooter's, good enough to get two headshots in under two seconds from far enough away that we couldn't hear the gunshots. I'm not taking any chances."

"It's fine," Shepard said. "We'll try not to shoot you."

"Much appreciated," David said. "I'll scout corners."

He moved up and around the corner, seeing nothing, not that he'd expected to. Just as soon as Tali and Shepard rounded the corner, on the other hand, Husks, both blue and red, began to clamber onto the catwalk. David groaned, swapping his Locust for his rifle and beginning to fire, targeting the red ones at a distance, as was Shepard using his own rifle, while Tali quickly slaughtered anything that got close using her shotgun. After about a minute, David spun and fired past Shepard's head carefully, dropping a pair of Husks before they could reach him. A moment later, Shepard grabbed Tali around the waist, spinning and allowing a Husk's claws to crash into the back of his shield. Tali blasted the Husk and thanked him, the two continuing to slaughter Husks as David did the same. David moved forward a bit, toward a larger open area with massive machines on either side. However, as he reached it, a Scion stepped into view from behind one of the machines.

"Scion!" David warned, diving into cover just before a trail of explosions shot past him.

He leaned out, sending a ball of explosive gasses into the Scion, the explosion not killing it, but managing to blast a half-dozen Husks around it. A moment later, Shepard and Tali began to blast the Scion rapidly with their guns, Tali using her pistol currently. David leaned out and formed an omni-bow, firing a bolt into the blue thing on its back. The bolt exploded and killed the scion, only to hurl a red Husk directly at David with the concussion. David swore loudly, diving to the side just before the Husk exploded, hurling him into one of the large machines, David hitting upside down and groaning, falling to the ground in a heap.

"David!" Shepard said, running over with Tali. "Are you alright?"

"Great," David groaned. "Can we call it a day and go home now?"

Shepard sighed, offering David a hand and pulling him back to his feet. "I wish we could. Come on. We should keep moving before any more Husks find us."

"If only walking around could help with that," David said, turning to follow them, only to stop, staring past the edge of the platform they were on at dozens of massive metal spikes, on which the Cerberus science team was impaled. "Uh...Shepard?"

Shepard and Tali both walked over, taking in the sight.

"We've seen these before," Tali said. "Dragon's Teeth, your people call them. The Geth used them on Eden Prime."

"Anyone impaled on them is turned into a Husk," Shepard said, looking around.

There were more Dragon's Teeth on the walls, though free of corpses, and the way the platform was arranged gave David a distinctly church feeling, just not a church he'd ever visit.

"See how the room is arranged?" Shepard asked. "They treated this place like some kind of altar."

"That's messed up," David said. "So, what, those people are sacrifices?"

"No one in their right mind would want this," Tali said.

"They were indoctrinated," Shepard said. "We've already seen it with the security footage."

"That's probably true," David said. "I'm getting the creeps standing here. Can we please go?"

"Good idea," Shepard nodded.

They walked away from the altar, back off the platform and through a door they'd passed during the gunfight. It led to another airlock, which had to equalize the pressure between the room they were leaving and the one they were entering. As it did, the female automated announcement cheerfully announced that safety was a priority, and that it had been five days without a work-place death.

"Didn't miss it by much, did we?" David asked.

"No," Shepard said. "Maybe if we'd been quicker..."

"The science team would have been completely indoctrinated still," Tali said. "There's nothing we could have done."

As they entered the next room, they found it was even bigger than the one they'd left, with massive containers of God knows what marked with Cerberus's symbol. However, just as soon as they were away from the door, three Husks suddenly scrambled over the edge behind Shepard. David spun to shoot them, only for their mystery sniper to drop both Husks with a bullet each, all three of which passed directly over Shepard's shoulders. They all turned to where the bullets came from and saw a Geth.

"Shepard-Commander," the Geth said.

"I think the indoctrination is kicking in," David said. "I'm hallucinating a talking Geth."

"It's not just you," Tali said.

"No, it definitely talked," Shepard said.

"Is that N-Seven armor strapped to its chest?" David asked.

"Looks like it," Shepard said as the Geth turned and walked away.

Just then, Husks began to swarm over the sides of the catwalk, all three turning and forming a tight circle, shooting them rapidly.

"It shouldn't have been able to talk," Tali said. "A single Geth is no more intelligent than a Varren."

"The moment I see a talking Varren, I'm going to have Doctor Chakwas evaluate me for psychosis and test me for drugs," David said.

"Priorities," Shepard said, forming a singularity, which caught a pair of explosive Husks.

David shot one, the explosion sending the other crashing into an explosive container surrounded by Husks. The resulting explosion destroyed all the Husks around it, and the three of them quickly dropped the handful that were left.

"There, _now_ can we talk about the talking-" David stopped, shoving Tali aside with his right arm and ramming Shepard away with his left shoulder as his omni-tool formed a shield bigger than his body just in time to block three explosions from a Scion's cannon.

The shield shattered and David crashed into a wall of black pipes, crashing to the ground, unconscious. Shepard swore, he and Tali opening fire on the two Scions in the room. The room itself was the level they were all on, a raised section in the middle with the three gigantic storage containers, and a flight of stairs leading to a lower level that wrapped around the raised platform with the containers, then a second staircase leading back up to the catwalk away from the room, where the Scions were. Shepard sprinted down the stairs, meaning to get a clear shot at the two Scions, only for Husks to begin flooding over the side of the lower level.

"Shepard!" Tali shouted, beginning to shoot the Husks that Shepard was struggling to fight off.

Finally, David groaned, stumbling to the top of the stairs and typing on his omni-tool. "Shepard, get up here! I'm going to short out my omni-tool for the next half hour to fry them all!"

Shepard and Tali worked together to form Shepard a path back to the stairs and David fired a blast of electricity that looked like a bolt of lightning past Shepard into the Husks chasing him. The electricity jumped from one to the next, all of the Husks shrieking and spasming before collapsing, black smoke curling out of their head. David sighed, slumping to the floor against the side of a computer, reaching up to feel his head, his hand coming away with blood.

"Yeah, that's a concussion," David said, just as the Scions stepped into view. "Shit."

Before they could shoot, however, Shepard's Particle Beam crashed into the first, slicing into the massive blue thing on its back in seconds, causing it to explode. The plasma splashed over the other Scion as well, but it merely shrieked in pain and swung its cannon around. Before it could fire, a combat drone appeared behind it, zapping it and drawing its attention, allowing Shepard to kill the second Scion as quickly as the first. Once finished, he knelt in front of David, applying medi-gel to his head.

"Thanks for the shield, by the way," Shepard said. "You saved me _and_ Tali."

David smiled. "At least I can save _someone_."

Shepard helped him up and they headed down the stairs, David stumbling and swaying but moving. He activated his helmet so that gunfire wouldn't give him a headache when the concussion began to set in, and they quickly headed up the other set of steps and followed the catwalk again. From the top of the stairs, there were two more storage tanks on the right, then a ramp leading down to a square catwalk with a gap in the middle around one of the Reaper's support struts. David pointed toward the far side.

"There's probably a Praetorian there with our luck," David said.

"Please don't jinx us," Shepard said. "I already did at the beginning."

"No kidding," David grumbled, just as Husks began to scramble over the sides of the catwalk. "I'm just going to stop talking now."

They opened fire on the Husks, but David noticed the difference instantly. Without being able to turn invisible to calm his Fight or Flight response, he was shaking and trembling badly. His breathing was rapid and shallow, and he felt his head spinning. He clenched the grip of his rifle forcing himself to take exaggerated breaths, not calming himself any in doing so, but keeping himself from having a panic attack, or fainting. They began to work their way down toward the square catwalk, only for two more Scions to step out. Shepard swore, instantly grabbing his Particle Beam weapon and opened fire on one while David focused on the other and Tali focused on the Husks. It came as a sort of blessing that there were no explosive Husks yet, but just as soon as David managed to kill the Scion, several red Husks scrambled over the side beside him. He shrieked in surprise and fear, push kicking one into the rest and knocking them all off the platform again. However, when they exploded below it, the concussion shook the catwalk and a metal groan echoed through the ship.

"Oops," David grimaced.

"Run!" Shepard said, the three of them taking off at a sprint just before the catwalk behind them began to collapse.

After several turns, and sprinting past a swarm of Husks and two more Scions, they dove into an airlock just before the last of the catwalk broke free and fell. David groaned, lying motionless on his back for several long seconds before standing and looking down over the edge of the platform.

"Let's never do that again," Tali said.

"Yeah, my bad," David said. He turned, walking over to a computer sitting in front of a wall of data storage devices and typing on it for a few moments. "I've got the IFF. Let's go see about blowing up a Mass Effect core without killing ourselves, shall we?"

Shepard nodded and they opened the next door, only to stop. There was a shutter blocking the door, one designed to withstand much heavier weapons than they had. On the other side was a wide platform with the sides a few feet lower than the middle, connected by stairs running the length of the platform, and there was a computer at the far end, the Mass Effect Core visible beyond the end of the platform. The Geth was standing at the computer, two streams of orange electricity connecting its hands to the computer as it most likely tried to hack it. Behind it, several Husks were moving forward to attack it. It turned, shooing them and managing to kill the two closer ones, but it neglected to kill the rest, instead getting the shutter up just in time for a Husk to slam an arm into its head, dropping it. David dropped the remaining two husks quickly and they ran over to the computer.

"Tell me you can shut that thing down," Shepard said as David typed on the computer.

"Yeah, about that," David said. "We have to physically destroy the core, and whatever's left of the Reaper is fighting me for control. I can't keep the shields open long."

"Do what you can," Shepard said.

David nodded, drawing his Locust and turning, shooting several Husks with it, Shepard and Tali working together to keep them away. Then, he turned back to the computer, typing for a few seconds.

"Got it!"

He said, turning away from the controls and replacing Shepard, who pulled out his Particle Beam weapon, firing it into the exposed core. Husks swarmed toward them, seeming to want to stop him, but together, David and Tali were able to hold them back. David felt himself starting to slip again but forced himself to stay calm. Suddenly, Shepard swore.

"Shield's closed!" Shepard said, switching back to his rifle and taking over for David, who turned back to the computer.

He typed quickly, his attempts at hacking being overridden several times before he got it again. "Open!"

He spun, drawing his Locust in time to use it to knock a Husk's arm into the air, redirecting a slash aimed for Tali over her, then shot the Husk and several more. Just as the shield closed again, Tali swore.

"I'm out of Thermal Clips!" Tali shouted over Shepard's gunfire.

"Take my pistol!" David shouted back, typing on the computer.

She grabbed it and began to fire quickly. "Where are your thermal clips?"

"It doesn't need them!" David said. "Open!" He turned, grabbing his Locust again and opening fire. "It cools down!"

Tali nodded, returning to firing. After a few seconds, Shepard tapped David's shoulder. He turned, quickly getting the shields open again then turned as a dozen red Husks scrambled onto the platform.

"Are you fucking kidding me!?" David shouted. "Don't leave me behind!"

"What!?" Shepard asked, just as biotic power shone from David.

David turned, swiping a hand from behind himself over his shoulder at the core, all of the burning Husks streaking through the air, slipping between the closing shields of the core and exploding against the core itself, the shield locking in the force and allowing the blast to multiply, destroying the core.

"Ha," David said, swaying. "Got...you." He collapsed, Shepard catching him as the ship began to shake, rapidly growing more and more violent.

"Dammit David!" Shepard swore. "Tali, grab that thing! We're bringing it with us!"

Tali nodded, grabbing the Geth and grunting as she lifted it, following Shepard to the right side of the platform and followed a catwalk leading out to a hull breach where Joker could fly over next to them. The Normandy pulled up beside the ship, dropping at the same speed and allowing Tali to hurl the Geth into the port side airlock while Shepard shot the Husks trying to get to them. Shepard threw David next, Tali jumping immediately after. Both landed into the airlock and Tali turned, shooting the Husks as Shepard jumped. Shepard landed in the airlock and EDI closed the door, Joker flying away from the Reaper. Shepard opened the interior door as soon as he could nd Jack stepped into the airlock, eyes widening instantly.

"David!" Jack gasped, kneeling and feeling for a pulse. "Oh Fuck! David! He's barely breathing!"

"Move!" Shepard said, lifting David and heading for the elevator, Jack following as Miranda and Jacob arrived to take the Geth somewhere it could be secured.

As soon as they reached the medical bay, Chakwas stood and gestured at a bed. She began a cursory exam and her brow furrowed.

"What happened?" Chakwas asked.

"He hit his head earlier in the mission, then at the end he used his Biotics to throw a bunch of Husks, then collapsed," Shepard said. "Except he's worse this time."

Chakwas nodded, picking up a syringe and injecting it into his thigh. A moment later, David sat bolt upright, gasping for breath.

"What was that?" Jack asked.

"Adrenaline," Chakwas said. "Whenever he uses his Biotics, his body consumes too much energy and starts to go into a state of rest. I just woke him back up."

David groaned, laying back down and holding a hand to his head. "My head's killing me. I think my concussion's setting in."

"It is," Chakwas said. "Three days of rest and you'll be fine."

David nodded. "Thanks Doc."

"You were supposed to come back safe," Jack said.

"I believe the deal was alive," David said, pushing himself up, swaying even before standing. "Help me to the armory?"

Jack nodded and helped him out of the room to the elevator, Shepard helping as well. Once both were out of their armor and had locked their weapons up, Shepard left to call the Illusive Man and David and Jack headed back to their hole, David sighing in relief when the darkness helped with his migraine.

"Do you have any idea how scared I was when I saw you passed out in that airlock?" Jack asked.

"Sorry," David said. "Thanks for getting me to Chakwas."

Jack sighed, shaking her head. "You're going to be a handful forever, aren't you?"

"I hope not," David chuckled, wincing. "Being a handful hurts."

"That's what you get," Jack said before her gaze fell to the floor for a moment. "So...I promised you an answer."

"It's alright if you don't have one," David said.

Jack shook her head. "I do. I...I want to try. I'm not sure if I'll be able to actually let you in, and I can't promise I won't get scared and freak out, but I want to try."

David smiled, nodding. "Alright."

Jack smiled before it faded slightly. "Um..." she swallowed, actually blushing slightly, and David had to hold a laugh in at seeing Jack, of all people, actually being shy. "Can I...kiss you?"

David chuckled, nodding, and Jack leaned forward hesitantly, kissing him, David kissing her back instantly. It was a bit awkward, at first, partially because of Jack being shy, but after a moment, Jack relaxed, settling into the kiss with a sigh. After several seconds, she turned, moving over to straddle his lap so they wouldn't have to turn to the side to face each other, and her hands cupped his cheeks as she let out a shaky breath, deepening the kiss. Her tongue slipped out, trailing along his lower lip to urge him to let her in and he granted her request, his tongue meeting his. After a couple more minutes, Jack finally pulled away, both breathing harder and Jack smiling slightly.

"That was...different," Jack said.

"Sorry," David winced.

"What?" jack's brow furrowed before here eyes widened. "Oh! No, no! It was good! You're not a bad kisser or anything. It was just...different. I've obviously kissed people before but...it was different with you. It felt...I don't know. It made me feel...warm. But at the same time...it kind of felt like I was drowning. And my chest hurt a little."

David chuckled. "Those are called emotions. We weak bitches have them."

Jack rolled her eyes. "Very funny. I just mean...it was different. I've never felt anything like that form something as simple as a kiss."

"Is that good?" David asked.

"I...don't know," Jack said. "Maybe."

David smiled. "I can work with maybe."

Jack smiled, and leaned forward again. She hesitated for a moment before kissing him again, David kissing her back and letting her set the pace.

* * *

Leave a review. 


	19. Chapter 19

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

Scared

David stirred, smiling as he felt Jack shift in his arms. He smiled, holding her a little tighter, feeling her do the same. Memories of the night before began to filter into his mind. They'd ended up spending half the night kissing, though when Jack tried to take it further he'd stopped her. He knew how she felt about sex, and he also knew how new she was to letting herself feel anything. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea to go that far yet, and besides that, he wanted their first time to be more special than in the dark underside of Engineering just because. Jack had accepted his reasoning, though she hadn't been entirely impressed by it, and they'd spent a few more hours kissing before falling asleep together.

"It's kind of nice waking up like this," Jack said quietly, snuggling closer.

"Yes it is," David agreed. "How'd you sleep?"

"Better than I have for a while," Jack said. "Which is impressive given how few hours I got."

David chuckled. "I should go get cleaned up for the day."

"Want me to join you?" Jack asked, pressing a leg between his, making hi suck in a breath.

"More than you realize," David said. "But for the time being, my mind hasn't changed. For now, you'd better just use the girls' shower."

Jack sighed, reaching up and kissing him, remaining there for a few minutes before David pulled back and stood. He grabbed some clean clothes and turned to walk to the stairs as Jack sat up.

"David," Jack said, frowning. "Um...can we...I mean..."

"If you want to keep it between us, we can," David said. "It's none of their business anyway."

Jack smiled. "Thank you. I'm not ashamed or anything. I just...I'm not ready for everyone to know. I...I've never let anyone in before. Part of me is still scared that either you'll hurt me or someone will use you too."

David smiled, walking back over and kneeling in front of her, setting his clothes down and cupping her face. "I promise you, I will never hurt you. And I'm not going to let anyone else do it either, even by using me."

Jack smiled and nodded, kissing him for a few seconds before pulling away. "Alight, go take a shower before I decide to follow you."

David smiled, kissing her on the forehead before picking up his clothes and heading up the stairs to the male bathroom, taking a quick shower and brushing his teeth and shaving before heading back down to Engineering. He froze as he arrived, however, seeing Jack lying on the bench completely naked. She looked over at him and gave him a Cheshire smile, rolling onto her side and propping her head up on one arm.

"Welcome back," Jack smiled.

David swallowed hard, trying to force the blush out of his face. "Why are you naked?"

"I washed my clothes but they're still drying," Jack said. "Why? Were you hoping for another reason?"

"You're really planning on making it damn-near impossible for me to wait, aren't you?" David asked.

"Only until you figure out how stupid you're being," Jack said. "It's just sex. You're acting like it's marriage or something."

David sighed. "And that's exactly why I'm waiting."

Jack's brow furrowed in confusion. "What, for marriage?"

"No," David said. "Sex doesn't mean anything to you. I'm waiting until you realize it's not just a fun pastime."

Jack rolled her eyes. "You're going to be waiting for a while, then."

"I have plenty of time," David said. "In the mean time, I'm going to go make the rest of the guns in the locker work without thermal clips. We had a problem with that last mission that I'd like to not repeat."

Jack nodded and David left, sighing in relief once he was I the elevator, adjusting himself so it wouldn't be as uncomfortable. He probably _would_ be waiting for a while. But that was fine. He would wait as long as it took. He reached the armory and began to work on Tali's shotgun. Just as he finished and went to put it away, EDI called him to the AI core. He headed down to it, and as he walked in, the small ball on a stick that was EDI's synthetic display appeared on a projector on his left.

"I would like your help finishing the IFF's installation, and then testing it while Commander Shepard and the others take the shuttle for a mission," EDI said. "You can use the computer on your right."

"Sure," David said. "Go ahead and send Shepard and the others. I'll have it installed in a couple minutes."

"That is unlikely," EDI said. "It is a very complex data package. I have been having trouble getting it to work with our systems."

"EDI, it's me," David said. "I've got this."

"Very well," EDI said. "Let me know when you have finished the installation."

"Will do," David said, beginning to type on the computer.

After about five minutes, EDI's head reappeared, telling David that Shepard and the others were gone. At the same time, David finished installing the IFF.

"It's all set up," David said. "I'll head up to the cockpit now."

"Very well," EDI said. "I will begin testing the IFF."

David walked out of the AI core and through the Medical Bay, then over to the elevator. However, when he hit the button, nothing happened. He frowned, hitting it again. Nothing. "EDI, the elevator's not working."

Just then, an alarm began to blare. David swore.

"What's going on?" he called out.

"The IFF had a virus encoded into it," EDI said. "It has disabled our propulsion systems and it broadcasted our signal to the Collector Ship. We are being boarded. They are on the elevator."

David swore, ducking into the bathroom and hiding in a stall. He swore repeatedly. He should have double-checked. It would have taken an extra hour, but at least this wouldn't have happened. He should help. He shouldn't be cowering in a toilet stall. After a moment, he took a deep breath and activated his Tech armor, standing and moving to the door.

"Don't open the door," EDI warned, a second too late.

The door hissed and opened, a Scion turning toward David. It roared and David shrieked in surprise and fear, arms snapping up just as the Scion's cannon went off, a half-dozen plasma explosions slamming into the biotic barrier David had formed.

"David, are you alright?" EDI asked.

"I can't hold this barrier forever!" David shouted, just as the Scion blasted the barrier with another half-dozen explosions. "Save me! Please!"

"I have regained control of the Normandy's defensive systems," EDI said. "If you can hold that barrier for several more minutes, I will be able to kill all of the collectors."

"Several minutes!?" David gaped, just as another wave of explosions blasted the barrier. "I can't!"

Several Collectors arrived, opening fire on the barrier and David shouted in alarm, then in pain as his head throbbed agonizingly. His body began to feel heavy and his vision began to darken. He clenched his teeth, forcing more power to the barrier, just in time to block another wave of explosions.

"Thirty seconds," EDI said.

"E...EDI..." David panted, falling to the ground as his barrier bent back, forming a small bubble over him. "I...can't..."

Suddenly, the ship lurched as it accelerated and all of the Collectors were suddenly sucked away from the bathroom, the door of which shut instantly.

"You may lower your barrier now," EDI said, David doing exactly that. "I am venting air into the room. In a few moments, I will repressurize the rest of the ship."

"S...Send...Joker," David said, voice barely a whisper as his body shut down quickly. "A...drena…line."

* * *

David groaned, sitting up and holding a hand to his head, Joker helping steady him.

"You okay?" Joker asked.

"Did anyone else make it?" David asked.

"Just us," Joker said. "I went crawling through vents to unshackle EDI so she could purge the ship, but by then the only other person still on the ship was you. EDI said she managed to seal the bathroom before it was fully vented. She told me to inject you with adrenaline."

David nodded, standing and looking around, realizing they were still in the bathroom. He groaned as his head spun suddenly and dropped beside the toilet, vomiting into it. After a couple minutes, he flushed it and moved to the sink, using his omni-tool to fabricate a toothbrush and toothpaste, beginning to brush his teeth.

"Wow," Joker said. "I've never seen an omni-tool do _that_ before. Just how much did you modify that thing?"

"A lot," David said around his toothbrush, finishing brushing his teeth and rinsing his mouth before throwing the toothbrush into a garbage chute. "How long until the others get back?"

"About twenty minutes," Joker said.

David nodded and they both headed to the crew deck, David dropping heavily onto one of the seats groaning. About twenty minutes later, the elevator opened and most of the others walked into view, Jack sprinting over to David as he stood. She threw her arms around him instantly, sobbing and clinging to him. He hugged her back, his own body still trembling from both exhaustion and fried nerves.

"I thought I lost you!" Jack chocked out.

"I'm still here," David said. "I'm not going anywhere."

Jack reached up, kissing him, not caring that everyone else was in the room. He kissed her back, holding her tightly and feeling her respond in kind. Finally she pulled away, gasping in a shaky breath.

"I love you," Jack said, tears streaming down her cheeks again. "I love you!"

"I love you too," David smiled, kissing her again. "I'm not going anywhere."

Jack nodded, hugging him again and continuing to cry. He gently guided her to the elevator and down to their spot in engineering so she could have some privacy. He sat on the bench, holding Jack in his lap as she sobbed, clinging to him. He gently trailed a hand up and down her back comfortingly. It was almost surreal to have Jack, the strongest person he knew, crying, and he, the weakest he knew, be the one comforting her. He gently kissed the top of her head, reassuring her that she wouldn't lose him. Finally, after nearly thirty minutes she began to calm. She reached up, wiping her eyes, and sat up, taking a shaky breath.

"I'm sorry," Jack said. "I'm acting like such a pussy."

"You're acting like a human who was afraid she'd lost someone important to her," David said. "You have nothing to apologize for."

Jack smiled, kissing him. David instantly noticed something was different. Normally, when she kissed him there was a certain charge to it. Like an undercurrent of desire. This time, however, from the moment their lips met, he was overwhelmed by the need he could feel in her kiss. It was in the way she held his face tightly, the way her lips moved against his, not even separating for breath, the way her tongue moved against his after a few moments. He could feel it in the way she was still trembling slightly, and the way her breathing was both heavy from kissing him, and shaky from being close to tears. Finally, David pulled away, seeing the way the muscles in Jack's jaw tightened as she clenched her teeth to keep herself calm without being able to distract herself from her emotions by kissing him. He reached up, gently wiping the mascara lines from her cheeks, smiling.

"You know, I never would have expected you to say it first," David smiled.

Jack let out something between a laugh and a sob, barely catching herself. "I know. You've turned me into such a pussy."

David smiled, kissing her for a moment. "I love you, Jack."

"I...I love you too," Jack said, resting her forehead against his. "I'm sorry for what I said."

David frowned before realizing what she meant. "You're still thinking about that? Jack, I don't care about any of that anymore."

"I do," Jack said. "I hurt you. I would do anything to be able to take it back."

David was silent for a moment before smiling. "Alright, then go on a date with me."

"What?" Jack asked, brow furrowing.

"Go on a date with me," David said. "Go out in public and act like a couple with me."

Jack's eyes widened before she sighed, smiling. "I know I said I'd do anything, but..."

"Ouch," David smiled, ignoring the flash of doubt in his brain.

Jack's face split into a smile. "I think I can manage one date. Maybe I'll even be able to get laid at the end of it."

"Don't get your hopes up," David smirked, giving her a quick kiss.

Jack smiled before it faded slightly. "There's...something I want to tell you about. I don't talk about this. Even more so than everything else. You're...not the first person to want to get close. Or to succeed. You _are_ the first person I've...I love you. I just..."

"Jack, it's alright," David said. "You can tell me anything. I'll understand."

Jack nodded, swallowing hard. "There was a guy a long time ago. Murtock. He used me like everyone else...for sex, for biotics...it was fun. Then, on a job, we tagged a weapons frigate with a Batarian escort and got separated. He had a choice. Leave with the guns, or come back for me." He voice turned a little harsh, like it always did when she was trying to hide her feelings. "Idiot dumped the score and waded into the squints. I made the shuttle, but no way he was getting out. So, I left. I flew for a day or so and the shuttle kicked out this recording. He set it to play if he hadn't checked in. He figured that would mean he was dead." Her eyes began to water and her voice became strained, her breathing raspier as she fought of the urge to cry. "He talked about the future we were supposed to have. How he had planned to set us up a home. How he...How he loved me and he was sorry it wasn't going to happen. When I heard that, I realized that I'd fucked up. I let him too close. I...I forced myself to think he was an idiot, and it had all been just fun." She swallowed hard again. "I don't...I never...I love you, now and-"

David kissed her, stopping her from trying to explain herself. "If he was here, would you choose him over me?"

"What?" Jack asked. "No! I love you!"

"Then I don't mind that you had feelings for someone," David said. "The past is the past. I told you, I'll listen to anything you need to talk about, or anything you _want_ to talk about."

"I don't want to talk about that," Jack said. "I just...I don't want there to be secrets between us. I...I didn't want it to feel like a lie anymore when I say that you're the first person I've ever had feelings for."

David smiled. "I don't care if I'm the first or not, as long as I'm the one you care about now."

Jack nodded, her tears beginning to fall again. "You're such an idiot. You have to be to fall for someone as fucked up as me."

David smiled, kissing her. "If you're broken, I'll be the one to pick up the pieces and put you back together."

Jack gasped, her tears falling faster. "You...You're an idiot!"

David was about to ask her what he'd said wrong when she kissed him, seeming more desperate than before. He kissed her back, feeling her beginning to cry again as she kissed him, except, it was different this time. He got the feeling that she was happy. After a while, she finally pulled back, wiping her face and resting her head on his shoulder. David held her securely in his arms and she took a shaky breath before reaching down and picking up a datapad.

"Sorry about that," Jack said. "What you said just...it struck a little close to home. Here." She pulled back and handed him the datapad.

He accepted it, seeing it was on the extranet and was displaying a poem, one which was short but had the words, "If you're broken, I'll be there to pick up the pieces" as the begging two lines and ending lines. He was about to ask why it struck close to home when he saw the author's penname. Jacqueline Nought. Jack Zero, if the words were swapped out for a nickname and a synonym. A grin split his face.

"You write poetry?" He asked.

She took the datapad back, scowling at him. "That's the first thing you have to say?"

"What were you expecting?" David asked.

She sighed, rolling her eyes. "I've only written a couple. It was a phase. It...seemed to help...for a bit."

David smiled, nodding. "It's really good."

Jack snorted, shoving him lightly. "No it isn't."

"It is," David smiled.

Jack smiled, leaning in again and kissing him. it was calmer this time, but David could still feel Jack's need to be close to him through it, and tried to match it with his own. However, after a moment, he pulled away as his omni-tool beeped.

"What is it?" Jack asked.

"I set it to alert me if someone got close to us, that way we'd have time to separate if you wanted to," David said.

"No," Jack said, resting her forehead against his. "I don't care if they know. I mean, I said I love you in front of them, and we _are_ going on a date soon."

"True," David smiled, glancing at his omni-tool before grinning. "It's alright, though. Shepard's not visiting _us_."

Jack's brow furrowed before her eyes widened and she grinned. David activated the voice enhancer and they both listened with wide grins.

"I don't know if I could stand being stuck in a suit my whole life," Shepard was saying.

"We're in our suits even among family," Tali said. "The most intimate thing we can do with another Quarian is link our suits' environments."

"They know they can grind through clothes, right?" Jack asked, David pinching her. "Ow! Don't pinch me! Unless it's somewhere fun, in which case ribs are off limits. I can suggest a place nearby to try though."

"Sh," David said. "I wanna eavesdrop on our Commander and his awkward girlfriend."

Jack snorted. "Fair enough."

"I haven't trusted anyone enough for that, though," Tali was saying. "Except...well, no Quarians. Um. You know what I mean."

"I appreciate the thought, Tali, and I want you to know that I feel the same way," Shepard said. "But you don't have to prove anything to me."

"I know, w-well, not that I know, but..." Tali hastily corrected herself. "I-I didn't mean it like that. It's, uh, um...wow, it's really hot in here."

Jack and David both laughed.

"She's adorable," Jack laughed. "She's like a schoolgirl."

"It's just that the tradition also signifies a willingness for, uh-um...intimacy," Tali word-vomited. "I-I wasn't trying to...It's not always like that. It's more...how did we even end up talking about this?"

"Wait a minute, it sounds like you're suggesting something, Tali," Shepard teased.

"What could I possibly be suggesting?" Tali asked, apparently more calm when being sarcastic. "I mean a young woman gets rescued by a dashing commander who lets her join his crew and then goes off to save the galaxy? How could she possibly develop any kind of interest in him?"

"Wow, not even a stutter," David said. "I'm kind of proud."

"You realize we're eavesdropping like high school gossip girls, right?" Jack asked.

"No," David said. "We're eavesdropping like _extremely high-tech_ high school gossip girls. We have standards."

Jack snorted.

"Well that's too bad," Shepard sighed. "And here I was hoping she felt the same way I did."

"Really!?" Tali gasped. "I didn't...you never...well...good. A-Anyway, I should get back to work. But...thanks. For coming by. And talking."

David waited patiently, but apparently that was the end of the conversation because Shepard began to walk away. David deactivated his omni-tool and sighed. "That went better than I expected."

"I was about to yell up through the floor that she wanted his dick when she started stammering," Jack smirked.

David laughed, just before Shepard walked down the stairs and into view. "Oh hey. What's up?"

"Just checking in," Shepard said. "Are you alright?"

"I'm better," David said. "Give me a day or so of rest and I'll be ready for whatever. Especially if it involves going to save our crew."

Shepard nodded. "We'll be docking at Omega for two days. We need get some upgrades done and the parts and labor are there. After that, we're going through the relay. Hopefully before it's too late."

David nodded. "Alright. That'll give me tie to take care of some personal stuff, too."

"Is it serious?" Shepard asked. "If you need any help-"

"No, no," David chuckled. "It's not a mission. Just something I want to do before we go through the Omega Four relay."

Shepard nodded. "Alright. We'll be at Omega in about an hour."

"Thanks," David said.

Shepard walked away, and Jack sighed, kissing him again.

"I should go see if Kasumi has any dresses I can borrow," Jack said. "The only decent place to go for a date on Omega is Afterlife."

"True," David nodded. "I'll get cleaned up as well and meet you at the port."

"Why not here?" Jack asked.

"I'm probably going to take more than an hour," David said.

"What are you planning to do, shave your balls?" Jack laughed.

"No way!" David snorted. "I have a laser in my omni-tool that'll do a better job without razor burn."

"Wait, what?" Jack asked. "No fucking way! You're totally messing with me!"

David chuckled, grabbing his duffel bag, which had the suit he'd stolen when he and Jentha had fled through Afterlife so long ago, then raised a hand to Jack as he walked toward the stairs.

* * *

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	20. Chapter 20

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

Alone Together

David smiled broadly as Jack stepped out of the Normandy. When she had said she was going to borrow a dress, David hadn't expected anything fancy. Jack had not disappointed. She had a relatively plain black dress with a slanted ring of blue near the bottom and grey below it, grey on the left hip, a pair of black stiletto heels and an open, dark grey jacket with the sleeves rolled to her elbows and the collar popped. The dress's top had a "V" neckline that sank low enough to show off cleavage, as well as some of her tattoos.

Jack walked over to David, looking extremely uncomfortable, though she seemed to know how to walk in heels without falling, which actually surprised David. David's smile grew as she reached him, wrapping her arms around his neck and smiling back.

"You clean up well," Jack smiled.

"Me?" David snorted. "Look at you! You actually look presentable."

Jack rolled her eyes, kissing him for a few seconds before pulling away. "We can always go back to the ship and I can make myself look more presentable for you."

"Tempting," David said. "But I believe I promised you a date."

"I'm pretty sure this is supposed to be a punishment for me having been a bitch," Jack said.

David shrugged, slipping his hand into hers, Jack giving his hand a light squeeze as they left the dock. They started out with dinner at the fanciest restaurant Omega had. It wasn't much, but considering it was Omega, it was practically five stars. Plus, if it had been much fancier, Jack probably would have been uncomfortable. Conversation at dinner was light, at least for them. Jack told him about some more of her tattoos, the more tame ones, and ones she wouldn't have had to show him. Finally, their check arrived and David paid it, leaving a relatively generous tip for the waiter, a Batarian, having been extra polite to Jack, even though he obviously recognized her, given that David heard him gasp out "Oh shit! It's her!" before he reached their table.

"That was...surprisingly nice," Jack said, as they walked through Omega, hand-in-hand. "I had fun."

David smiled. "So did I. I love spending time with you."

"Yes, I know," Jack chuckled. "You're as psychotic as I am. We've established that you have a death wish."

Just then, a pair of Blue Suns mercs stepped out, each aiming a pistol at David.

"You've got balls coming back here," one of them said. "You've got a _very_ high price on your head."

"Jack," David said.

Jack's free hand swung up and a trail of biotic explosions sent both flying over the edge of the walkway they were on, both crashing down several levels later, dying on impact.

"Where were we?" David asked. "Oh, right! Time for your punishment."

Jack groaned. "You're going to make this insufferable, aren't you?"

David smiled, leading her to Afterlife. They headed to the bar first and a Turian standing behind the bar turned to them.

"What can I get you?" the Turian asked over the music.

"Two of whatever she wants!" David said, nodding toward Jack. "Anything except mindfish!"

"Oh you just suck the fun out of everything, don't you?" Jack asked, then laughed. "Just give us four shots of whatever you have that's strong and not Rincol!"

The Turian nodded, pouring them four shots and both of them threw two back, Jack beating David by about a second.

"You were close!" Jack said. "But no one beats me!"

"We'll see!" David said. "Come on! Let's go dance!"

"Oh, _now_ we're talking!" Jack grinned.

They headed to the Dance floor together and within seconds Jack was pressed against David, both of them moving their bodies with each other to the beat. He wasn't a fan of the music, but he was definitely enjoying having Jack as a dance partner. She knew it too, and took special care to make sure he was having issues with how tight his pants were within moments of them getting onto the dance floor. After long while, she pressed harder into him, grinning knowingly back at him as his erection pressed firmly into her rear. He sighed, reaching forward and kissing her, Jack reaching back to tangle a hand into the back of his hair, smiling into the kiss, which remained mostly tame, despite their less than innocent dancing. However, after a few seconds, a hand tapped David on the shoulder roughly. He pulled away, looking back and seeing a Batarian glaring at him.

"Aria wants to talk to you," the Batarian said.

David sighed and nodded, kissing Jack again. "I'll be right back!"

Jack nodded and David followed the Batarian. After a couple of minutes, he was in Aria's private area being scanned, for some reason.

"What's the scan for?" David asked. "The only weapon I currently have is my omni-tool, if that's what you're worried about."

"It's not for weapons," Aria said. "It's just a precaution."

Just then, David's omni-tool began to beep and he suddenly found several rifle barrels pressed to his head, David "eep"ing and turning invisible for a second before flickering.

"It's just a phone call," David said.

"Answer on speaker," Aria said, snapping her fingers, a pair of her thugs closing the doors, sealing the sound of the club off.

David answered and Shepard's face appeared on a small screen over his omni-tool. "What's up?"

"Why'd it take you so long to answer?" Shepard asked.

"I'm busy," David said. "I'm on a date. Why? What's going on?"

"We got an estimate for how long the upgrades will take," Shepard said. "It'll be complete in a little under two days. Is that enough time to do whatever personal shit it was?"

"Yeah," David said. "The personal shit was the date, so I think I can probably be finished within two days."

Shepard nodded, disconnecting, and David sighed, lowering his arm.

"So, the Batarian that came to get me said you wanted to talk?" David asked.

"That's Bray," Aria said. "He's loyal, but a bit impatient. Anyway, the last time you came to Afterlife, you were being chased by Blue Suns mercs. They shot up my club, forced me to kill them in the middle of it, killed the mood, killed one of my dancers, and generally ruined my good mood."

"Sorry," David said.

"However, amid your bumbling escape attempt, you _did_ accidentally knock a failed assassin's shot off target," Aria said. it wouldn't have gotten through my barriers anyway, and it was an accident, but you did me a favor, and now I owe you. I _hate_ owing people. So, right here, right now, you're going to ask me for a favor. And I suggest you keep it reasonable. Angering me would not be a good idea."

"Well," David said. "I want to surprise the girl I'm on a date with. I'd appreciate it if you could give us somewhere nice to stay for the next two days for free."

"Is that all?" Aria asked. "Done." She picked up a datapad and entered an address on it. "Take this to any cab driver and tell them I've given you permission to stay here. They'll know not to charge you."

"Thank you," David said, accepting the datapad and turning to leave.

"Oh, and one more thing," Aria said. "I don't mind her killing a couple of Blue Suns for you, but if Subject Zero goes on a rampage, I'll hold you accountable for bringing her here."

"Understood," David nodded.

Aria unsealed the room and David left quickly, making his way back to where he'd left Jack. He stopped a few feet away, however, when he found her grinding against some guy in a nice suit with his hair slicked back, a thick gold chain around his neck, and his lips practically glued to Jack's neck, his hands pulling her tight against him. David clenched his teeth, eyes flicking to the datapad in his hand. Doubt began to fill his mind, but he shoved it away, walking over to them. Jack looked over and her smile widened as she stepped away from the guy.

"Hey!" Jack smiled.

"Excuse me, but we were in the middle of a dance!" the guy said. "Get lost!"

David levelled a glare at him that instantly made him shrink back. "Leave before I burn you alive."

The guy fled instantly, and Jack nodded approvingly.

"Impressive," Jack said, leaning in to whisper in his ear. "I've never seen you like this. I kind of like it."

David pulled back, glancing at the datapad again. "Come on. I got us a place to stay."

Jack's brow furrowed, but she nodded, following him out to the rapid transit station. A Batarian cab driver looked up at them and David held out the datapad. The Batarian's jaw actually dropped.

"I don't even _want_ to know what you had to do to get permission to stay at Aria T'Loak's private pent house," the Batarian said, opening his cab and climbing in, Jack and David doing the same.

"You got us permission to stay in the Queen of Omega's private penthouse?" Jack asked.

"Apparently," David said. "I just asked for a free hotel room."

Jack shook her head. "How'd you get to a position where you can just ask for stuff anyway?"

"She owed me a favor," David said.

Jack shook her head again, sighing and laying her head on his shoulder, slipping her hand into his and giving it a squeeze, then frowning when his hand remained loose. She didn't say anything, however, and after a few minutes they reached the penthouse, walking into it from its private parking lot. It was massive. The bed could fit three Krogan comfortably in a bedroom that was double the size of most hotel rooms, there was an in-ground pool in the main room with a hot tub connected, allowing the entire pool to be heated, there was a walk-in closet in the main room the size of a normal hotel room, the kitchen area was fully stocked and separated from the main room by an island counter with a complete bar on the kitchen side of it, fully stocked, and when Jack walked to the bathroom, it was also massive.

"This place is amazing!" Jack breathed, walking back into the main area.

"Yeah," David said disinterestedly. "It's beautiful."

Jack frowned, watching as he walked into the bathroom, brushing his teeth quickly before walking back out of the room to the bedroom, dropping his suit jacket on the floor and sitting on the foot of the bed, running his hands over his face tiredly. Jack walked over, pulling the bottom of her dress up a bit before settling in his lap, pulling his hands away from his face to make him look at her, only for him to direct his gaze out the door at the pool instead.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked. "You've been so happy for the last few days. What's bothering you?"

"It's nothing," David said.

"Okay," Jack said, standing. "Then I guess if you won't talk to me honestly, there's no point in me being here." She turned, heading for the door. "I'll see you back on the Normandy, David."

"Wait!" David said, sighing heavily.

Jack walked back to him, kneeling down in front of him and lifting his head. "Talk to me, David. Tell me what's wrong."

"I..." David sighed heavily. "I saw you dancing with that guy, and I saw him...all over you, and...I got jealous. I couldn't stand seeing him touching you."

Jack scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You're such an idiot!"

"I know," David said miserably.

"No!" Jack said. "You obviously don't! David, you're the _only_ person I've let close. You're the person I give a shit about. That asshole in the club was just to pass the time until you got back. Even if I _did_ take somebody home, it would still be meaningless sex, and it's still you that I'd be coming back to the next day."

David scowled at the thought of her taking somebody home and Jack rolled her eyes, making him look at her again.

"Hey, I love you, not some random asshole at a club," Jack said. "You worked hard to get in past the walls I had set up, and now I love you. Some random guy at a club isn't going to change that by kissing my neck and groping me on a dance floor. In case you didn't notice, I didn't even hesitate to ditch him when you got back. If nothing else, that should show that I will always choose you."

"I guess," David said.

"Hey, come on," Jack smiled, sitting in his lap again. "I love you, David. Please don't be mad at me. I've been having such a great time on my first date ever. I don't want to end it on a bad not by making the person I love mad. Please forgive me? You know I don't apologize often, so-"

David interrupted her with a kiss, Jack smiling and kissing him back instantly, laughing into the kiss for a moment. "I'm not mad. I'm just jealous."

"Well, maybe I should do something about that then," Jack grinned, kissing him again.

This time, her tongue slipped out to ask admittance to meet his. He granted her request, Jack humming pleasantly as their tongues slid against each other's. After a couple of minutes, Jack shifted, grinning as she felt his erection press against her. However, as she did, he pulled away from the kiss. Jack rested her forehead against his, sighing.

"You really are going to make me wait, aren't you?" Jack asked.

"For now," David said.

Jack smiled. "You don't want to have had sex with me at least once before we go on our suicide mission?"

"I don't need to," David said, Jack's brow furrowing. "I'm happy being able to hear you say you love me."

Jack smiled. "You really like hearing me say that, don't you?"

David blushed and smiled sheepishly. "Kind of, yeah."

Jack smiled, kissing him again. "I love you. And since we have two days before repairs are finished, I'm going to spend those two days telling you I love you until you decide you want to get laid one last time."

David chuckled, kissing her again. "I love you Jack."

"I love you too," Jack smiled, then stood, pulling her jacket off. "I'm going to go get cleaned up." She slipped the straps of her dress off her shoulders, letting it pool around her feet, leaving her entirely bare for his eyes to hungrily devour. "Feel free to join me."

Then, she turned, walking out of the room to the bathroom. David took several slow breaths to regain his composure, then headed to the room's bar. He grabbed a bottle of something, only checking the label long enough to make sure it wasn't Rincol, not to actually see what it was, then poured himself a glass, draining it. He poured another glass and sipped at it, putting the bottle away and heading back to the bedroom, sitting on the side of it and sighing, staring at the alcohol between sips. He wished he hadn't seen what he had in the club. His plan for the two days was to rent them someplace halfway decent for the night, then finally Give Jack what she wanted, and to do his best to make sure she could tell the difference between meaningless sex and sex with someone who loved you. When Shepard had said they had two days, he'd been ecstatic. More time to be with Jack without interruption. Then, he had been even more excited when Aria had given him the address for what he had assumed was a nice apartment for free. But then, he had seen Jack. After the Collectors had attacked the Normandy, and Jack had been scared she lost him, he had thought maybe she would be ready to understand that there was a difference, and not all sex was _just_ sex. Now, he wasn't so sure.

He finished his drink just before Jack dropped onto the bed, bouncing him slightly. He looked back at her, sucking in a breath when he saw she was still naked, lying on her back and watching him knowingly.

"I'm sorry," Jack said. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"I know," David said, setting the glass down. "You didn't see anything wrong with it. I'm not mad. I forgive you." He leaned down, kissing her for a few seconds before pulling away.

"I was a little disappointed you didn't join me in the shower, you know," Jack said, smirking as David tried his hardest not to stare at her body. "You're allowed to look, you know."

He smiled, shaking his head, even though his eyes betrayed him and flicked down to her body for a half-second, to her bright pink nipples, which he was only partially surprised to find weren't also tattooed, then down to her completely bald lips. He tore his eyes away after less than a second, but it was already seared into his mind, and she had noticed. She smiled, rolling over onto her stomach.

"I don't suppose I can get a back massage?" Jack asked. "Since you refuse to touch me in more entertaining ways."

David sighed and nodded, moving over to straddle her thighs, starting to massage her back, trying to keep his thumbs from tracing the experimentation scars. He worked his way up on either side of her spine to her shoulders, having to lean forward slightly to do it and ending up pressing his erecting into the firm flesh of her ass. Jack moaned appreciatively, grinning back at him.

"You tease," Jack accused. "You sure you want to let that go to waste?"

"I'm sure we'll survive without it," David smiled, working his way back down her back, further out this time.

However, as he reached her waist, he paused, eyes having flicked down to admire her rear, without his consent, only to instead stare at a tattoo that he could clearly see was new. He frowned as he stared at it, his right hand sliding down to lightly brush his thumb over it. It was an omni-tool crossed over a Mattock with a blue biotic explosion in the background. He didn't need to ask why she got it. He smiled, brushing his thumb over it again as Jack twisted her upper body to look up at him, smiling.

"Do you like it?" Jack asked.

He smiled. "Well, it doesn't say commitment quite like my name as a pelvic stamp, but yeah, I like it." He leaned down, kissing her for a moment before sitting back up, continuing her massage.

As he did, however, Jack stared at the wall, eyes widening slowly. Before the date, when she'd been trying to borrow a dress from Kasumi, Kasumi had been lecturing her about relationships. She hadn't really wanted to listen, and most of the lecture had passed in one ear and out the other, but now, with his words echoing in her ears, part of the conversation returned to her.

_"David's a good guy, far better than you deserve, no offense,"_ Kasumi had said.

_"None taken."_

_"David's not with you because he wants sex, or because he's passing the time. He's committed. He's fallen completely in love with you. I'm honestly not sure that he's right. You're probably going to hurt him, even if on accident. You're not used to relationships. You're probably going to make a mistake, so I'm just going to warn you now so that you hopefully don't crush him. If you're serious about wanting to be in a relationship with him, and you seriously do love him, you need to understand that relationships are supposed to be monogamous. You're supposed to be with him and no one else. That's what it means to be in a relationship."_

_"Mhm, sure. Should I go with the blue dress or the black one?"_

Jack's eyes began to water. She hadn't even been listening at the time, but now that she remembered, she felt like she'd been stabbed in the heart. She looked back at him, seeing he was spaced out a little, eyes seeming to be staring at something a thousand miles away. And she could see the hurt in them, now that she looked. She could see the feelings of betrayal he was trying to bury and hide from her. The ache in her chest throbbed, and she sat up suddenly, flipping her legs and tugging him into a kiss.

David blinked in surprise, yanked out of his thoughts, which had been focusing back on what he'd seen at the club again, as Jack suddenly rolled over, kissing him fiercely. He kissed her back, feeling her hunger through the kiss. He was about to try to pull away, and remind her that he wasn't going to sleep with her, when his chest suddenly began to ache. With a start, he realized that it wasn't hunger he was feeling. It was desperation. Regret. And more than that, he was literally feeling it. it was like he was feeling his own emotions, except he knew he wasn't. He pulled away from the kiss and realized Jack was crying.

"I'm sorry!" Jack choked out. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! I didn't...I wasn't even thinking about it! I didn't mean to make you feel like...I didn't mean to betray you! I swear I never wanted to hurt you! I'm so sorry!"

David pulled her head to his shoulder, wrapping his arms around her and gently trailing a hand up and down her back, rocking slightly as she cried. "I told you, I'm not mad. It hurt to see you dancing with someone else, but I'm not mad. This is part of who you are. You're not worried about getting physical with anyone. To you, it's just fun. I understand. It's okay."

"It's no okay!" Jack said, pushing off his shoulder. "I want to be better! For you! I want to be better so I can be closer to what you deserve!, even if I'll never come close!"

David sighed, kissing her. Jack kissed him back instantly, still crying, but David could feel other emotions as well. After a few seconds, he pulled back from the kiss, hugging her tightly.

"Jack, I don't care what I deserve," David said. "I will _never_ care what I deserve. I love you. I will _always_ love you. And as long as I have you, I will never ask you to try and change who you are."

Jack let out a gasping sob, clinging to him. "I love you! I love you so much! Please don't ever leave me!"

"I won't," David said. "You'll never lose me. You couldn't get away from me if you tried."

Jack let out something between a laugh and a sob and David smiled, pulling back and cupping her face, wiping her eyes.

"You don't need to be afraid of me betraying you or leaving you," David said. "I will never hurt you. I love you. Psychotic tendencies and all."

Jack managed a laugh and David smiled, kissing her. She kissed him back instantly, still crying, though less noticeably now. As he kissed her, her hands clutched at his neck, holding him tightly. He leaned forward, laying her on her back, and gently pulled her hands away from his neck, slipping his own into her and lacing their fingers together. Jack let out a shuddering breath, squeezing his hands gently and wrapping her legs around him to hold him against her in place of her hands. He smiled, overjoyed that she was letting her emotions show so much. As he continued to kiss her, however, he felt his biotics beginning to stir. He tried to stop them, but they ignored him Except, it was different. They weren't acting like they were going to set off an explosion, or anything. Instead, after a moment of biotic energy spreading through his body, he suddenly felt a tidal wave of emotions flood him. Love, desperation, regret, fear. He realized what was happening just as Jack whimpered, hips shifting slightly, and suddenly, he could sense a burning need from her as well.

He pulled away from the kiss, moving over and kissing her cheek. Then the corner of her jaw. Jack let out a shaky breath as he began to kiss a trail down the side of her neck, sucking at her pulse point for a second and earning a small moan. As he continued downward, leaving several dark bruises behind, his hands slipped out of Jack's, trailing down her arms slowly. He kissed along her collar bones for a moment, Jack tilting her head back out of the way and shuddering slightly, hips pressing against him tighter. He smiled, kissing his way down and to his right as his hands slid down to her sides, his right slipping under her to rest against the small of her back, and his left sliding up to cup her right breast at the same time as he took her left nipple into his mouth. Jack moaned lowly, hands tangling in his hair as he worshiped her body, kissing and licking every centimeter of flesh, memorizing the exact shape of every tattoo and scar. He sucked her nipple into his mouth again, gently biting down and flicking it with his tongue a few times before releasing it and moving over to her other breast, beginning to give that nipple as much attention as the first until both were standing proudly atop her perfect mounds like a pair of monuments to be adored.

As he began to kiss his way downward again, Jack caught him under the right arm. "Please. I need you."

David smiled, gently pulling her hand off his arm and holding it in his left hand as he kissed her pelvis. "Relax. When was the last time someone made it entirely about you?"

Jack frowned. "I...don't remember. I haven't...I don't think I've ever gone this slow before. Usually I prefer it rougher."

"Do you want me to be rougher?" David asked.

Jack hesitated, then shook her head. "This feels good."

David smiled and nodded, reaching up and kissing her for a few seconds before moving back down, taking a moment to worship her peaks again before quickly kissing his way back to her pelvis, then moving around her lower lips and kissing her inner thighs, slowly moving higher as he alternated sides. Finally, just as he could sense Jack's need about to boil over through whatever biotic link he'd accidentally made, and just as her grip on his hand began to tighten, he moved up, tongue flicking out and trailing between her lips, earning a long moan from Jack. Her free hand held his head in place as his right hand reached around her left leg, resting on top of her thigh as his tongue flicked out again and again, attending to her need. He payed attention to her reactions, quickly getting a feel for what she liked best. As he locked his lips around her clit, flicking it over and over with his tongue, he moved his right hand to her entrance, pushing two fingers into her. Jack moaned loudly, holding his head in place with her free hand as he worked her folds.

"Oh my God!" Jack moaned. "David! Jesus!"

He smiled, turning his hand over and curling his fingers forward, as he'd learned to do with Jentha to find her G-spot. Within seconds, he'd found Jack's as evidenced by her moaning loudly and arching off the bed, slipping her other hand out of his in order to grab a fist-full of his hair instead. He continued to thrust his fingers into her, taking care to hit her G-spot each time as his lips and tongue worked her clit religiously.

"Oh God!" Jack gasped after a couple more minutes, her muscles beginning to tighten and coil up in preparation for her release. "Oh fuck! David! Don't...Don't stop!"

David used his saliva to lubricate his other hand's middle finger before quickly slipping it into her asshole, Jack crying out in surprise and pleasure. Then, she bucked against him, sucking in a breath and going silent, face turning red quickly as she shook and bucked.

"Oh fuck!" Jack managed to force out. "Don't stop! Please!"

He continued to work her two holes, sucking and licking her clit hungrily, until her orgasm began to subside. He slipped his finger out of her ass and slowed his other hand to a crawl before slipping his fingers out, beginning to clean her juices up with his tongue, Jack moaning as he did. Finally, she pulled him up by the shirt and he moved up, kissing her, Jack moaning weakly as she tasted herself, slipping her hands into his and lacing their fingers.

"Holy shit," Jack panted once David pulled back from the kiss. "I'm so jealous of Jentha for having gotten to feel that before me."

David chuckled. "You have nothing to be jealous about. I'm yours now. Always."

Jack smiled, eyes watering again and kissed him, holding him tightly as she put as much passion as she could in the kiss. After several minutes, her hands finally moved to the front of his shirt, quickly and skillfully undoing the buttons, pushing the shirt off of him before she rolled them, quickly slipping him out of his pants and underwear as well, staring at him member in surprise.

"And here I was thinking you were supposed to be skinny," Jack smiled, kissing the tip of his dick. "My turn."

David watched as she trailed her tongue up the underside of his dick before slowly beginning to take him into her mouth, sinking down to the base before beginning to bob her head. David groaned, eyes fluttering in an attempt to close, but he fought to keep them open, watching Jack, who maintained eye contact as she bobbed her head, speeding up quickly. However, after a couple minutes, she released his member with a pop and grinned. She moved to straddle him, only for David to suddenly grab her and roll, pinning her to the bed and kissing her.

"I believe I said this is all about you," David said, kissing the side of her neck where he'd left bruises before, then starting to work his way around to the other side. "That means...I'm doing...all the work. Just enjoy."

Jack made a small noise of approval at the back of her throat as he left a particularly dark bruise on her pulse point. He smiled, moving up and kissing her again as he lined himself up and pushed into her. Jack moaned deeply, arms wrapping under his and clutching at the back of his shoulders as her legs slid up out of his way. He gave her a moment to adjust, and to calm down slightly, before beginning to move slowly. Jack pulled back from the kiss, tilting her head back and moaning softly.

"You're so beautiful," David smiled, kissing her shoulder lightly, careful to keep his rhythm steady.

Jack smiled, joy and adoration shining through whatever connection David had made. He smiled, slowly beginning to speed up, keeping his strokes long and smooth, even as he sped up. He leaned down, sucking at Jack's pulse point again, pulling another moan from her lips, louder this time.

"I love you Jack," David said softly as he sped up more. "You're so beautiful, and amazing, and strong. You're perfect to me."

Jack let out a stuttering breath. "You asshole! You're going to make me cry again!"

David smiled, kissing her, focusing and projecting his love for her through the connection. Jack snapped instantly, tears running down her cheeks, even as she clung to him, the kiss turning even more passionate and fierce. Jack's moans of pleasure grew louder rapidly, and David smiled, pulling back from the kiss.

"Fuck!" Jack gasped out between moans, mascara still darkening her cheeks. "I love you, David! I love you so much! Christ this is so weird!" She laughed, then moaned loudly. "Oh fuck! Keep going!"

David gave her a quick kiss before focusing on his thrusts, pushing them until he was shoving himself into her as fast and hard as he could, their hips slapping together rapidly as her drenched tunnel squelched every time he filled it, then made a wet sucking sound every time he withdrew. He began to feel his balls beginning to tighten and burn as he neared the end of his rope, at the same time as he felt Jack's muscles beginning to coil, pulling her legs higher as she lifted her legs, locking them around his waist.

"Fuck!" David groaned as he felt himself slipping. "Jack...I'm not going to last much longer."

"Oh fuck!" Jack moaned. "I'm...I'm going to cum! Fuck David! I'm going to...oh fuck! Cum in me please! I want to feel..."

Her eyes widened and her voice failed as she neared her peak. David leaned down, kissing her and ramming himself into her rapidly, and a second later, her hips bucked and her insides clenched just as his cock erupted, flooding her undulating tunnel with his semen. Jack moaned loudly, clinging to him as they drank each other in, remaining fused at the lips and bucking and rutting against each other, wave after wave of his seed being pumped into her greedy tunnel as she milked every drop from him. Finally, both of them began to come back down and David rolled, pulling her on top of him as they settled from orbiting cloud nine, both gasping and panting for breath and Jack trembling in David's arms, eyes watering yet again.

"I get it," Jack breathed.

"What?" David asked, frowning.

Jack smiled up at him, wiping her eyes. "A while ago, while you were out on a mission, I tried to convince Jentha to fool around with me because I was bored. She said she wasn't interested in meaningless sex. I tried to argue that all sex was meaningless, but she just kept saying I didn't understand because I was only having sex. She said I would never understand the difference between having sex and making love unless I found someone who loved me to show me the difference. Ironically..."

"It was the guy she was with at the time that fell in love with you," David said, smiling. "No do you understand why I made you wait and wouldn't have sex before just because you wanted to?"

"Yes!" Jack said, burying her face in his chest. "Christ I'm such a crybaby now! I love you, David. Thank you for being here for me. If...If I don't make it back from the Omega Four relay..."

"Hey," David said, lifting her head and making her look at him. "Don't even think about it. You _will_ make it back from the mission, even if I have to carry you out on my back myself this time. We _will_ come back from this mission. I'm not going to let you die, and you're not going to let me die. Right?"

"Of course not," Jack said.

"Then we don't need to worry about it," David smiled.

Jack nodded, reaching up and kissing him for a minute before setting her head down, smiling.

"So, we've used up about forty minutes," David said. "We've got this suite to ourselves for about two days. Want to go again?"

Jack stared up at him for a moment before laughing and nodding, sitting up and instantly taking him into her tunnel, moaning. "This time, I'm going to do the work." She lifted his hands and laced their fingers together, only to stop, staring down at him. "I think you're the first one."

"What do you mean?" David asked, brow furrowing.

"You're the first one to ever look at me like that," Jack smiled. "Like I'm the only thing in your life that matters."

"You are," David smiled, giving her hands a light squeeze and smiling. "You're everything to me."

Jack smiled. "You really are crazy, putting a mass murderer on a pedestal like that." She began to move her hips, both moaning, and within a few moments, they had returned to where they left off.

* * *

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	21. Chapter 21

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

Wild Ride

David squeezed Jack lightly as she glowed with biotic energy, using it to kill off the sperm, apparently. He tried not to feel too disappointed that there was no chance of her getting pregnant. He may want a family someday, but now was definitely not the right time, and if she _did_ get pregnant, there was a solid chance that Jack would panic and run away. He was just glad whatever link his biotics had created had faded a few rounds ago so she couldn't sense his confliction over the matter.

Jack sighed, the biotic energy fading as she snuggled into him, smiling. "So, that takes care of the bed, the pool, the hot tub, the shower, and that wall over there."

"And the dining room table," David added, smirking. "And the kitchen counter."

Jack smiled. "That's true. You know, I don't think I've ever actually had this much sex in only two days. I'm going to miss this place."

"I'm sure you'll manage," David smirked. "We'll have to see if the floor of our area of the Normandy's as comfortable as I remember it."

"After this bed, I doubt it," Jack snorted. "But I'm definitely down to try it out."

David laughed, trailing a hand up and down her back. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Jack smiled. "How much longer do you think we have?"

Just then, David's omni-tool began to beep and he sighed, sitting up and pulling on his underwear before answering.

"Head to the docking bay," Shepard said. "The upgrades are finished."

"We'll be right there," David said.

Shepard nodded and hung up. David sighed, looking back at Jack, who was propping her head up on one arm, watching him amusedly.

"Sounds like time's up," Jack said.

David smirked, kissing her and rolling her onto her back and slipping his hands into hers. "They can wait a few minutes, as long as we make it quick."

Jack grinned, rolling them and quickly slipping his underwear back off, instantly taking him into her tunnel. "In that case, I'll take over this time."

David smiled knowingly, and Jack kissed him one more time before beginning.

* * *

David twisted the wires on the medical scanner together before putting the new focusing lense in and putting the face plate back on, scanning the newly modified scanner with his omni-tool. According to his scans, it would work according to what he had planned, but it would be incredibly painful without Chakwas there to administer the proper amount of anesthetics, and it would also leave someone unable to move very well for about two hours. They had about that long before reaching the Omega Four relay, so if he was going to do it, it had to be now. Jack gave him a worried look.

"I'll be alright," David smiled. "I'll just need you to carry me back to our hole."

Jack smiled, shaking her head. "You're crazy, you know that?"

"That must be why you love me," David smiled.

Jack sighed, kissing him before closing the medical bay's shutters and having EDI lock the door. She turned to David as he dropped the last of his clothes and lay on the medical table, typing on his omni-tool. "Let me know if I need to stop it."

David nodded as a white light shone from the scanner, hitting the table the scanner slowly creeping up its rail along the table. The second the light hit his skin, there was a loud hissing as the light intensified anywhere it hit him, leaving his skin an angry red like he had a sunburn. He grit his teeth, squeezing his eyes closed and struggling to ignore the horrible, agonizing burn as the light creeped up his legs, feeling like he was slowly being lowered into boiling water. He dreaded what would happen when the light reached his genitals, but a moment later he found out. It was awful. He knew laser muscular reconstructive modifications without anesthetics would be bad, but he wasn't ready for this. As the laser reached his genitals, the pain went from awful to unbearable. Jack, having agreed to hold him down for that section ahead of time, used her biotics to restrain him, covering his mouth so no one thought they needed to help. Finally, it reached his waist and she slowly released her grip on him, wiping her eyes and gently stroking his hair to try and calm him.

"The face is going to hurt too," Jack said.

"It'll be fine," David said through gritted teeth.

Finally, the laser began to near his neck and Jack pulled her hands back, once again holding him down. Then, after an agonizing thirty seconds of him barely keeping himself from screaming, the laser finally separated from his scalp, not affecting his hair at all, and shut off. Jack quickly helped him up and back into his clothes before injecting a small dose of pain meds into him, then lifted him and carried him to the elevator, then from that to their area of Engineering. She set him on the bench gently, then sat beside him, holding him as gently as she could.

"Was that really worth it?" Jack asked.

"I fucking hope so," David groaned. "That hurt so bad!"

"No shit," Jack said. "Of course it did. you were deconstructing and then reconstructing your muscles and skin with a laser. What did you expect it to feel like?"

"Not that bad," David said.

Jack sighed heavily. "You'd better be able to fuck for days on end after that or else that will forever be the second dumbest thing you've ever done behind falling for me."

David laughed, then groaned. "Falling for you wasn't dumb. It just proves that I can see how beautiful you are, even if no one else can."

Jack blushed, fighting a smile, and gently squeezed him slightly. "How'd you get permission to do that, anyway?"

"I didn't," David said. "I'll fix it later."

Jack shook her head. "You really are crazy. Go to sleep, David. You need to be fully recovered when we get there, or else you won't be much use, even with your new upgrades."

David nodded, reaching up and kissing her for a moment before settling against her again, passing out in seconds.

* * *

David woke with a start as he felt the ship lurch violently. He looked around wildly, finding Jack leaning on a railing beside him, both now up on the main level of Engineering. He groaned, slowly pushing himself up, only to stumble as the ship lurched again. Jack caught him, David feeling a flash of burning pain from his muscles, but it was tolerable. She helped him stand and pulled him against the railing with her, the window in front of them overlooking the cargo bay where Shepard, Tali, and the Geth they had recovered from the derelict Reaper, Legion, were fighting a floating ball of metal with a red eye on the front that fired a massive red laser for a few seconds at a time.

"What is that?" David asked.

"No idea," Jack said. "But the shaking-" she paused as the ship lurched violently, knocking Tali off balance, only for Legion to tackle her out of the way of the machine's laser. "-is Joker trying to shake four more."

David groaned. "I hate ship battles."

Jack nodded. "How do you feel?"

"Like shit," David said. "But I should be alright. Legion's turning out to be pretty handy, huh?"

"You should see him fighting something our size instead of a robot," Jack said as they watched Legion running around the cargo bay and drawing the machine's attention for Shepard and Tali. "While you were avoiding Collectors on the ship, we were fighting Geth Heretics, which is apparently a rogue Geth, and then Legion gave them all a virus to rewrite them all into more or less being brainwashed into rejoining the normal Geth."

"Sounds like a big risk," David said. "Hope it works out."

Just then, the ship lurched, and the inertial dampeners shut off as EDI transferred all power to the barriers. As the dampeners shut off, Joker pulled up and Jack and David clung to the railing as the force of the turn tried to throw them backward. Finally, the ship levelled out, and David sighed, releasing the railing as the machine Shepard and the others were fighting finally exploded.

"That wasn't so bad," Jack said.

"I'm sure it was worse than we realized," David said. "Come on. Let's head upstairs."

Jack nodded and they headed up to the armory, David quickly getting into his armor and grabbing his weapons before they headed to the cockpit just as the Collector Ship began to fly over to meet them. It opened fire at them as soon as they were facing them, but at a distance, Joker was able to avoid the beam fairly easily.

"Time to show our new teeth," Shepard said, standing directly behind Joker. "Fire the main gun."

Joker nodded, typing on his controls rapidly. A moment later, a shining blue beam of energy sped away from them, blasting into the much less maneuverable Collector ship, sending an explosion tearing backward through the ship.

"How do ya like _that _ya sons of bitches!?" Joker shouted.

"Get in close and finish 'em off," Shepard said.

"Everybody hold on, gonna be a wild ride!" Joker said, accelerating toward the ship.

"Wait, don't get too close Joker!" David warned. "When that ship's destroyed, it'll probably make a massive firework. If that blast hits us, it'll take us offline."

"Hit and run, got it," Joker said.

They sped toward the ship, avoiding a second attempt at blasting them, then fired their own guns a second time, the beam punching straight through the main section of the ship this time. Explosions began to decorate the Collector ship's hull rapidly and Joker moved to get some distance quickly, heading toward the Collector Base, which looked the same as the ship they'd just destroyed, except about a hundred times bigger. Then, the ship exploded and there was an electric hum as the engines shut off.

"Shit!" Joker said. "Engines are overheated! EDI, give me something!"

"Venting heat," EDI said, then paused. "I have one engine operational at ten percent."

"Shit!" Joker swore. "Brace for a rough landing!"

Jack wrapped her arms around David instantly, stepping to the left so that they were against the wall and David kissed her just as biotic energy began to shine around both of them from Jack. The Normandy veered to the side as the one working engine allowed them to avoid something in their path, then levelled out, Jack's biotics keeping him and David from moving. Then, the Normandy slammed down on the Collector Base, skidding to a stop after a second, though it wasn't actually that rough of a landing after the initial impact, though the inertial dampeners were apparently still off, because the force of slowing so quickly _did_ make David's head go light and pressed him harder against the wall and Jack harder against him. Finally, the ship stopped skidding and Jack pulled away from the kiss, the biotic energy fading as she smiled.

"That wasn't so bad," Jack smiled. "I don't mind getting pressed up against you."

David smiled. "Same. How's the ship Joker?"

"EDI?" Joker asked.

"The engines are currently offline," EDI said. "Kinetic barriers are down, hull integrity is at seventy percent, and we are stranded on the Collector Base's hull. The engines should be cooled off and operable again in roughly one hour."

"Good," Joker said.

"If you hadn't given us that warning, this very well could have been a one-way trip, David," Miranda said from beside Shepard. "Well done."

"Thanks," David said. "How soon should we expect the welcoming committee?"

"I do not detect an internal security network," EDI said. "It is possible the Collectors did not expect anyone to reach the base."

"If we're lucky, their external sensors were hit like we were," Joker said. "They might not know we're alive."

"They will soon," David said.

"EDI, summon everyone to the Conference Room," Shepard said. "Have them grab their gear on the way."

"Yes, Shepard," EDI responded.

"Do you need David to stay and help with the ship?" Shepard asked.

"No way!" David said. "I'm not staying behind for this!"

"That will not be necessary," EDI said. "The engines simply need to cool, then they will function normally again."

"Alright," Shepard said. "Head to the Conference Room, then."

David nodded and he and Jack headed to the conference room, finding Miranda, Jacob, and Mordin already present, the others all arriving within a few minutes. Then, Shepard arrived, and they began to try and come up with a plan.

* * *

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	22. Chapter 22

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

Infiltration

David stepped into the Normandy's airlock and Jack slipped her hand into his, giving it a light squeeze. He smiled, and she kissed him before pulling her mask on. Then, he activated his helmet before the doors opened and they split. Shepard was taking one team consisting of himself, Tali, and Jack through one door. Miranda was leading everyone else through the other. Everyone except David. David, being the best hacker on the ship, was taking a small ventilation shaft to slip past blast doors that would be locking everyone else out. It'd be small, exposed, and if he didn't hurry, everyone would die before ever getting inside. Which was exactly why he volunteered. He could travel through the shaft invisible to avoid detection, and he could get the doors open and closed again relatively easily, he hoped.

He climbed into the shaft, finding it slightly larger than he was tall, and with six sides, rather than round. Also, it was hot. Like inside of an oven set to high, hot.

"I'm inside the ventilation shaft," David reported. "It's hot in here. I won't last long, but it looks like the tunnel's clear for a ways."

"For a ways?" Shepard asked.

"I'm expecting filters, or some other form of obstruction," David said. "Maybe incinerator barriers."

"Let us know if you find one and we'll shut it down," Shepard said.

"Will do," David said.

"Second team, are you in position?" Shepard asked.

"In position," Miranda reported. "Meet you on the other side of those doors."

David walked through the shaft quickly, taking several turns before stopping at a gate in a section with transparent yellow spots along the walls. The gate was hot, glowing orange, and the air around it was suffocating, but he could see what looked like a glowing green control panel below him, and outside the pipe, he could see Shepard's team quickly killing some Collectors.

"Shepard, when you get a minute...I'm blocked by a gate," David warned him. "There's a green panel by the shaft where I am. I think it opens the gate."

"Be right there," Shepard responded, just before Jack sent a Shockwave out at the last handful of Collectors, killing them all before sprinting toward the panel. "Jack's on it."

She hit the panel and the gate opened. The moment the gate rose up out of the shaft, the temperature dropped several degrees. He gasped in a breath as he kept walking.

"Thanks, babe," David said. "Remind me after this mission to put a temperature control unit in my armor."

"Will do," Jack said, flashing him a grin from where she was walking along the partially transparent tunnel beside him before she had to turn right.

However, just up ahead, his own path turned right, then left again, except for the second gate blocking his path, this one even hotter than the last. To his right, he could see through the transparent tunnel wall, and saw three Collectors waiting to kill Shepard and the others as soon as they rounded the corner.

"Heads up, Shepard," David warned. "You've got three Collectors waiting to ambush you around a left turn up ahead. Not sure how far. Also, I'm blocked by another gate."

"Roger," Shepard said, just before an arm swung around the corner, hurling a Singularity and catching the three Collectors.

Shepard's team stepped around the corner and quickly shot the three before the Singularity faded and Jack rushed to the green panel, opening the gate. They nodded to each other and continued along their paths. Not a hundred meters later, there was another gate, but apparently Jack could see this one from where she was, because before David could tell them, Jack used a Shockwave to slaughter a group of Collectors that had flown down to fight them, then opened the gate just as David reached it.

"See you at the next one," David smiled.

Jack returned the smile before getting serious and continuing. Two gates later, they reached a massive open area, Collectors instantly flying down to attack Shepard's team. He could see another gate ahead, but could also see Shepard's team was pinned down for the moment. David got as close to the gate as he could while still being able to breathe and waited. Slowly, Shepard and the others moved up, killing the Collectors a few at a time. Then, finally, Jack opened the gate. David turned, quickly jogging along the shaft. He was drenched in sweat, uncomfortable, and Miranda had already reported her team was in position, which meant they were probably about to be swarmed now that they weren't moving. He turned a corner and swore as he found a gate just ahead of him. Except, another door suddenly closed behind him, the temperature rising rapidly.

"Shit!" David swore. "Shepard, I'm trapped!"

He looked out through the wall of the shaft just as Jack sprinted into the small tunnel the shaft was running through, Tali and Shepard finishing off the Collectors. She hit the control panel and both gates rose, a rush of barely-cooler air providing no relief whatsoever. David groaned, squinting as sweat ran into his eyes.

"Moving up," he reported, walking as quickly as he could with the temperature so high it felt like an elephant was sitting on his chest. After a moment, he reached a larger open area with a plateau-like setup, the massive doors he'd be hacking open for them in the back wall, and two control panels in the room along the tube, one of them massive and with eight smaller hexagons inside of it, two of them green and the rest orange. "There's an open area ahead. Expect an ambush. I can see the doors, so it should be the last area. I see two control panels. I think these are the last two gates."

"Got it," Shepard said.

As soon as his team walked into the room, Collectors flew down from above, opening fire instantly. Several died on the way down, several more died as Jack sent out a Shockwave. A handful got caught by Shepard's Singularity and were killed easily. Just as David reached the first gate, Jack opened it for him. However, they got swarmed hard as soon as it did. Cody moved closer to the next gate, but Shepard's team's progress was slowed almost to nothing. There was a burning Collector directing the other Collectors. The air began to heat rapidly, and David's breathing began to grow more ragged and raspy, his body unable to handle the heat much longer. Finally, Shepard managed to kill the burning Collector and Jack used a Shockwave to clear a path to the controls. Tali sprinted toward them as Shepard and Jack focused on the other Collectors, more of them arriving quickly. The moment the gate opened, David dove out of the tunnel, deactivating his helmet and gasping for breath, coughing tice.

"We need through the door now!" Miranda shouted.

He shoved himself up, moving to the control panel for their door and scanned it, quickly typing on his omni-tool. A moment later, the door opened and Miranda's team backed into the room rapidly, firing out of it.

"We're in position!" Shepard reported, gunfire echoing from his side. "Waiting for the doors to open!"

"Look out!" Miranda shouted. "Seeker Swarms!"

"We need this door open!" Shepard shouted. "Now!"

David shook his head as he typed. Then, finally, the door hissed and slid closed. He turned, sprinting to the other door and once again scanned the control panel to hack into it with his omni-tool. After a moment, the door opened and Shepard's team fell back through it. Miranda's team joined them at the door, everyone firing through it to hold the Collectors at bay. After a couple seconds, however, the door slid closed. David sighed, deactivating his omni-tool and turned to look around. Everyone looked fine.

Shepard, you need to see this," Miranda said.

David turned to Jack as Shepard went to see whatever it was Miranda was worried about. Jack threw her arms around him, holding him tightly before pulling back, taking her mask off and kissing him fiercely.

"You saved our necks," Jack said.

"Of course," David smiled.

Jack smiled, kissing him again, more calmly this time, before pulling away and looking around, eyes widening. He looked as well and saw a pod with a tube connected to the bottom, a woman with dark brown hair just above her shoulders stirring inside.

"Looks like one of the missing colonists," Miranda said.

"Shepard, it's our crew!" Tali said from off to the side where there were more pods.

Just then, the woman in the first pod stirred, screaming and beginning to pound on the inside of the pod's transparent cover.

"My God, she's still alive!" Shepard gasped.

Before anyone can react, she suddenly began to sink, blood spraying up into the pod, coating both her and the inside of the pod.

"Get them out of there!" Shepard ordered. "Hurry!"

Everyone set to work while David scanned the pod. There was a tube connected to the bottom that ran to the heart of the station. He looked over at the others as they pulled the last of the crew members out of their pods.

"Doctor Chakwas, are you okay?" Shepard asked.

"Shepard," Chakwas said, seeming exhausted and partially unconscious. "You...you came for us."

"No one gets left behind," Shepard said, helping her stand.

"Shepard, the tubes run to the heart of the facility," David said.

"What are they for?" Shepard asked.

"The colonists, they...they were...processed," Chakwas said. "Those swarms of tiny robots...they...melted them down into grey liquid and pumped it through these tubes."

"Why are they doing this?" Shepard asked. "What are they doing with our genetic material?"

"I don't know," Chakwas said. "I'm just glad you got here before it happened to us."

"So are we," Miranda said. "But we're not done here yet. We've still got a job to do. We've done well so far. Let's hope we can keep it up."

"Joker, can you get a fix on our position?" Shepard asked.

"Affirmative, Commander," Joker said. "All those tubes run into the main control room right above you. The route is blocked by a security door, but there's another chamber that runs parallel to the one you're in."

"I cannot recommend that, Shepard," EDI said. "Thermal emissions suggest the chamber is overrun with Seeker Swarms. Mordin's countermeasure cannot protect you against so many at once."

"What about biotics?" Shepard asked. "Could we create a biotic field to keep them from getting near us?"

"Yes," Samara said. "I think it may be possible. I wouldn't be able to protect everyone, but we might be able to get a small team through if they stayed close."

"I could do it too," Miranda said. "In theory, any biotic could handle it. Except David. He doesn't have enough control."

"And yours aren't strong enough," David said. "If it runs parallel to this chamber, it's probably about the same size. We'd be moving at a walk and pausing any time we fight. It'd be probably five minutes. Maybe ten. And the Seekers will be slamming into it constantly, on all sides, the entire way."

"Christ that sounds exhausting," Jack said.

"I hope you're up for it," Shepard said. "I want you maintaining the barrier, Jack."

Jack nodded. "Alright."

"Miranda, you'll lead the second team through the main path," Shepard said.

"I'm going with Jack," David said.

"Alright," Shepard nodded. "Tali, you'll come with us too."

Tali nodded.

"What about me and the rest of the crew, Shepard?" Chakwas asked. "We're in no condition to fight."

"Commander," Joker said. "The engines are up and running again. We can do a pickup, but we need to land back from your position."

"We can't afford to go back, Shepard," Miranda snapped. "Not now!"

"They'll never make it on their own," Shepard said, glancing around at the squad. "Mordin, can you manage an escort on your own?"

Mordin nodded, activating his omni-tool. "Joker, need location of landing zone. Will meet you there."

"Alright," Shepard said. "We've all got our assignments. Let's move out."

They all nodded and split up, heading toward their chosen paths.

* * *

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	23. Chapter 23

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

Escort

David activated his Tech Armor and drew his Mattock, looking around carefully as they walked. Jack was holding the barrier just fine, but they couldn't contact the other team through the Seeker Swarms. It was also hard to see out through them with them bouncing off the barrier so rapidly. They worked their way through the chamber along the pathway, which wound and wove through the room. So far, they hadn't seen anyone.

As if on cue, David's omni-tool beeped several times. "Incoming."

Several Collectors flew by ahead of them, only for one to stop, eyes beginning to glow.

"Assuming direct control," Harbinger's deep voice said as the Collector's body cracked and began to burn.

It flew after the others and David groaned, shouldering his gun.

"I was enjoying a nice calm walk," David said.

"Too late now," Shepard said. "Jack, get into cover by that corner up ahead."

"On it," Jack said, speed-walking to a low metal block beside a corner that turned left.

David let Shepard have the corner and instead knelt beside Jack, Tali kneeling on his other side. Shepard stepped out, swearing and opening fire instantly. Just as bullets began to be returned, David and Tali both stood, both instantly realizing why Shepard swore. The path Shepard was shooting along was about a hundred feet long, then opened into a huge area filled with low metal and stone walls where more than a dozen Collectors were waiting, four shooting at Shepard, the other eight opening fire at David and Tali the moment they stood. David growled in annoyance.

"This will take too long," David said, typing on his omni-tool. "Shepard, can you kill the burning one?"

"Yeah, I'll get right on it!" Shepard snapped irritably, ducking down as a blast of the Burning Collector's corrupted biotics blasted the corner.

"Sorry," David said, turning invisible. "Didn't mean it like that."

He stood, hurling the half-dozen small balls of explosive gasses he'd formed inside a fragile containment field each, forming grenades. Then, as soon as he had, he dropped, one of the Burning Collector's bullets deflecting off his tech armor. He flickered for a moment before settling as visible just before the ground lurched with the explosions. Shepard stepped out instantly, launching an explosive round into the Burning Collector, getting its attention and allowing David and Tali to stand. The other Collectors were in chaos, three having been killed by the explosions, and two burned badly by them. David finished those two instantly while Tali took out three with her pistol. The other five turned to them, returning fire, only for David and Tali to drop. David formed another grenade and hurled it over the block they were on without looking. As soon as it exploded, Shepard leaned out, seeing the Burning Collector's ashes drifting through the air, then opened fire on two of the others, killing one. Three turned to them and Tali and David both stood, dropping the last of them. As soon as they were clear, Jack stood, beginning to follow the path. David glanced at her, seeing her jaw was set, trying to keep her face neutral, though he could tell she was struggling.

"Company!" Shepard called out as Husks began to climb over the edge directly ahead of them.

Everyone began to fire at them quickly, dropping them as quickly as they appeared. However, after a moment, a Husk shrieked from behind David, knocking him sideways into Tali, then both of them into the low wall to their left. It stumbled toward Jack, who looked back at it in surprise, but before it could reach her, David, flickering rapidly, shouldered into it, knocking it into the wall before driving an omni-blade into its head.

"Are you okay?" David asked, still flickering.

"I'm fine," Jack said, smiling reassuringly. "Fuck 'em up."

David nodded and turned back to the front just as several Husks charged, too close for Shepard to attack safely. David formed an omni-blade on each arm and stepped forward, stabbing two before ripping the blades back out as Shepard smashed the butt of his rifle into another's head. It staggered backward toward David and he slashed it across the side with his left hand, swinging his arm across his body, then up across the chest with his right, ending up with his arms crossed. Just as that Husk fell, then next reached him, only for him to slash its throat with both arms, decapitating it. It collapsed as Tali and Shepard shot the last of the Husks, allowing them to continue again.

"Nice work," Shepard said. "You're doing really well not running away."

"I have a compelling reason not to run away," David said, just as several Collectors flew over them. "Here we go again."

"Let me know when it's clear," Jack said, crouching down into cover.

They all opened fire on the Collectors before they'd even landed, killing a handful, but as soon as the others landed, one of the Collectors began to burn. This time, however, David was ready and instantly sent an omni-bow bolt into its face, the bolt exploding a moment later and covering the two Collectors to either side of it in flames, leaving the two Collectors too busy screaming in pain and trying to put the flames out to try and fight, making them easy targets. Then, once they were gone, the last handful went down fairly easily. They began to move again, making it a good distance this time before more Husks began to swarm them. However, as they were taking them down quickly, David noticed that Jack's face was twisted into a look of extreme strain. As they finished, he looked over at her. She was trembling, sweat was pouring down her face, and her feet were dragging as she walked, her pace having slowed considerably. Shepard and Tali both noticed as well.

"Keep it up, Jack," Shepard said. "We're almost there."

"I'm good," Jack said through gritted teeth just as more Husks began to swarm toward them from the front and back.

"Keep going!" Shepard said, moving to cover the front. "Don't stop!"

"Wasn't...planning on it!" Jack growled irritably.

David fired a ball of explosive gases backward into the leading Husk, blasting most of them with it, knocking a few others off the ledge on one side of their path. He shot the others quickly, just as Collectors began to fly down toward the path from behind them.

"Company!" David shouted, sending a blast of cryogenic fluids at them to slow them down. "Lots of company behind us!"

David switched sides instantly, Tali swapping her pistol for her shotgun, and David moved tot he front as they reached a long ramp leading to the door they needed to get through. It was in the center of a circular machine of some kind with two massive orange lights above it and off to the sides and three large pipes coming from above, two angled outward. However, just as he saw it, Jack stumbled, nearly falling.

"Almost...there!" Jack groaned. "Just...a little further!"

"Hang in there Jack!" David said, wrapping his arms around her to support her weight and speed-walking forward.

There was a low wall blocking the ramp, so David lifted her over it, setting her on the other side.

"Just go!" David said, turning and firing back past the others into the Collectors and Husks chasing them, allowing them both to go over the wall.

He spun as soon as they began to fire again, scrambling over it and ran to Jack. There was no cover anywhere along the ramp until the door. So, despite his body screaming at him to hide, he stood behind Jack, facing the Collectors, and walked backward while shooting. Between the three of them, they were able to keep them from getting any accurate shots, for a little while.

"They're pushing!" Shepard shouted over the gunfire as a fresh wave began to arrive, their bullets beginning to hit closer. "Keep it up!"

David sent a ball of explosive gas into them, taking out a few, only for several shots to crash into his tech armor.

"Hurry...Shepard!" Jack groaned.

They retreated to the door quickly, but just as it opened, several more shots slammed into David's tech armor, this time breaking through. His physical armor deflected most of them, but one hit his left bicep, making him shout in pain and stagger backward past Jack.

"Fuck off!" Jack shouted, her biotics flaring as she transformed the barrier into a massive blast of biotic energy that splattered the Seeker Swarms when it hit them, and launched the Collectors and Husks away, completely clearing the path as far as they could see. Then, she turned to David worriedly as the door closed behind them. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," David said, applying medi-gel already. "It only hit my arm, so I'll be fine. Are you okay?"

"Just a headache," Jack said. "Shepard, Tali, you two okay?"

"I'm good," Tali said.

"I'm fine," Shepard nodded.

"...repeat, Shepard, do you copy!?" Miranda's voice suddenly said, their comms finally working again.

"I copy, what's your position?" Shepard asked.

"We're at the door!" Miranda said. "We're pinned down!"

"On it!" David said, running to the door's controls and scanning it with his omni-tool.

He began to type rapidly, and after about a minute, the door opened. Instantly, the second team retreated back through the door and David began to type again as everyone fired back out through the door.

"Get this closed!" Shepard snapped as a shot glanced off his shoulder.

"Almost done!" David said. "Got it!"

The door hissed and slid shut, everyone firing through it for a moment before stepping out of the way just before several shoots flashed through it, missing everyone, fortunately, and the door sealed. Miranda bent forward at the waist, holding a hand to her side, but when Shepard went to check on her, she stood up and nodded, lowering her hand and showing she wasn't wounded.

"Good work, David," Shepard said.

David nodded and slipped her hand into Jack's.

"I'm taking a month off after this," Jack said.

"Just you, me, a beach, and unlimited alcohol?" David asked.

"Oh, now _that_ sounds like a plan," Jack grinned.

"There should be some nearby platforms that will take you to the main control console," EDI was saying as they turned back to the others. "From there, you can overload the system and destroy the base."

"Commander, you got a problem!" Joker spoke up urgently. "Hostiles massing just outside the door. Won't be long until they bust through."

Shepard turned, climbing up onto the lift platform, then looked back at the two doors. His gaze fell to the others and gained a calculating light. "A rearguard could defend this position and keep the Collectors from overwhelming us."

"Pick a team to go with you, Shepard," Miranda said. "Everyone else can bunker down here and cover your back."

"Tali, Jack, and David, you're with me," Shepard said.

The three of them nodded and climbed onto the platform.

"Anything to say before we do this?" Miranda asked.

"The Collectors, the Reapers, they aren't a threat to us," Shepard said. "They're a threat to everything. Everyone. Those are the lives we're fighting for. That's the scale. It's been a long journey, and no one's coming out without scars, but it all comes down to this moment. We win or lose it all in the next few minutes. Make me proud. Make yourselves proud."

"Aye aye, Commander," Miranda nodded.

David activated the lift and they all fell silent, turning away from the others as the lift moved away from the doors. "Be ready. There are several more platforms coming to meet us."

"Got it," Shepard said, everyone using the low wall forming a "U" to get into cover and prepare.

The first platform arrived alone with three Collectors on it, and Jack sent two of them spinning off of it with a Shockwave just before Shepard hit the third with an explosive round, sending its body flying off of it as well. The next two platforms arrived together and David swallowed hard, winking out of sight.

"I'll take the right platform," David said, trying to keep his voice from trembling.

"I'll be ready to cover you," Jack promised.

David smiled, giving her hand a light squeeze to thank her before moving off to the side as the others began to trade shots with the Collectors, Jack shooting at the right platform's Collectors just enough to keep them from advancing. After a moment of moving as quietly as he could, David reached the Collector at the back and stabbed it in the head with an omni-blade just as he deactivated his cloaking tech, shooting the other two with his pistol. Then, a shot slammed into his forehead and he crumpled, his head spinning and his ears ringing, though his tech armor helmet had deflected it.

"David!" Jack shrieked. "I'll kill you all!"

A massive shockwave, more than twice as strong as what she normally used, ripped across the platform, turning the two living Collectors into paste, along with the dead one's body, before Jack sprinted to David just as he was pushing himself up, shaking his head.

"Glad I had my helmet deployed," David said.

"Thank God!" Jack said, holding him tightly.

"I'm alright," David said, squeezing her for a moment before standing, looking around as more platforms began to close in, this time having a Burning Collector on one and two Scions on the other. "Oh boy. Take cover!"

Everyone dove behind something instantly, less than a second before the Scions cannons went of, blue plasma explosions ripping across the platform. David formed an omni-bow and leaned out, firing a bolt into one of the two, then dropped as the bolt exploded, killing it. However, just as it did, several Husks, who had been with the Scions, began to scramble over his and Jack's cover. He swore, forming an omni-shield like the Shadow Broker had used, and began to hold off three of them, flickering several times a second, while Jack blasted two away with a pair of balls of biotic energy. Then, she turned and charged her biotics into her foot and kicked one of the Husks, the biotic energy exploding outward from the kick and obliterating all three. David scrambled up against the wall again, still flickering rapidly.

"David, Burning Collector's dead!" Shepard shouted suddenly.

David winked out of sight instantly, waiting until the Scion's next shot passed before standing and looking around quickly. All that remained was the Scion and one Collector. He fired an omni-bow bolt into the Scion, then a second into the Collector, both exploding and killing them. David sighed as he reappeared and looked to Shepard, who was walking to the Scions' platform with Tali. Jack and David joined them before Jack reached up and deactivated David's helmet in order to kiss him for a moment before pulling back and turning it back on.

"What was that for?" David asked.

"For not dying and leaving me alone again earlier," Jack said.

David smiled. "I'll never leave you alone."

"Get a room you two," Shepard said as the platform detached from the others and drifted toward an opening in the wall around the massive chamber they were floating in.

"I'd say this chamber has plenty of room," Jack said. "Besides, getting a room is what you two do. Me and David are perfectly fine in our hole."

Shepard instantly cleared his throat uncomfortably as Tali groaned in embarrassment, holding her hands to her face.

"It's about time," David chuckled. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Tali said, still sounding uncomfortable and embarrassed. "We don't need to talk about this right now, though."

"EDI, any useful information about what the Collectors are doing?" Shepard asked.

"The tubes are feeding into some kind of super-structure," EDI replied. "It is emitting both organic and non-organic energy signatures. Given these readings, it must be massive."

Just then, they left the tunnel they were in and all stared up at the structure.

"Shepard...if my calculations are correct, the super-structure...is a Reaper," EDI said.

"Not just any Reaper," Shepard said. "A Human Reaper."

"Precisely," EDI said.

"No, he means literally," David said, staring at the massive, mechanical half-skeleton above them. "It's shaped like a human skeleton from about the waist up."

It had a massive sphere in its mouth, a mass effect core in its chest, its hands were rings of metal spikes around an opening, and it had four syringe-like glass tubes above it, Each with a metal plunger depressed inside of them, and each connected to a support cable and attached to the back of the Reaper's shoulders and arms. Just as they saw it, the metal filling the glass tubes retracted, a glowing orange fluid filling them before the metal depressed again, injecting the fluid into the Reaper.

"It appears the Collectors have processed tens of thousands of humans," EDI said. "Significantly more will be required to complete the Reaper."

"How many more?" Shepard asked.

"Millions," EDI said. "Perhaps more. Impossible to know for certain."

"This Reaper appears to be at a very early stage of development," EDI said. "An embryo, in human terms."

"So it's not alive yet?" Shepard asked. "We can still stop it from being...created?"

"The process _can_ be stopped," EDI said, "though it is unclear exactly how much it has developed. I cannot, for example, tell you if it has awareness."

"So, we should expect it to try and kill us just like everything else does," David summarized.

"This thing is an abomination," Shepard said. "EDI, how do we destroy it?"

"The large tubes injecting the fluid area weak structural link," EDI said. "Destroying them should cause the supports to collapse and the Reaper to fall."

"Oh the Collectors are _not_ going to like that," David said, just as several platforms began to approach. "And there they are now."

"Everyone get ready!" Shepard said, drawing his rifle as the others all prepared themselves again.

Then, the shooting began.

* * *

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	24. Chapter 24

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

Finished

David watched as the last tube exploded. As it fell, its hand smashed into a platform that was approaching, dropping it and the Collectors on it. David sighed in relief, letting his Tech Armor deactivate to recharge, as his omni-tool's sensors weren't picking up any other life forms around them.

"Is that it?" Jack asked.

"For the moment," David nodded. "Not for long, I'd guess."

"Shepard to Ground Team, status report!" Shepard said.

"We're holding them for the moment, Commander," Thane's voice replied. "But they're pushing hard. I'm not sure how much longer we'll be able to hold this position."

"Head to the Normandy!" Shepard said. "Joker, prep the engines! I'm about to overload this place and blow it sky high!"

"Roger that Commander," Joker said as Shepard knelt by the station's main control console, which was wired to the core, apparently. "Uh, Commander, I've got an incoming message from the Illusive Man. EDI's patching him through."

"Oh this aught to be good," David grumbled. His omni-tool beeped and he answered the message, his omni-tool projecting a hologram of the Illusive Man behind Shepard.

"Shepard, you've done the impossible," the Illusive Man said.

"I was part of a team," Shepard said. "They all risked their lives for this mission."

"I know," the Illusive Man said. "Their efforts will not be forgotten. You did what you had to do, and you acquired the Collector Base. I'm looking at the schematics EDI uploaded. A timed radiation pulse would kill the remaining Collectors but leave the machinery and technology intact. This is our chance Shepard. They were building a Reaper. That knowledge, that framework, could save us."

"Fuck no," David said. "Blow it up. Destroy everything."

"They liquified people," Shepard said. "Turned them into something horrible. We have to destroy the base."

"Don't be short-sighted," the Illusive Man said. "Our best chance against the Reapers is to turn their their own technology against them."

"Fuck that!" Jack scoffed. "This place is horrible! It makes the Teltin Facility look like a daycare! Using anything here is just wrong!"

"If we ignore this opportunity, _that_ would be wrong," the Illusive Man said. "They were working directly with the Collectors. Who knows what information is buried there. This base is a gift. We can't just destroy it."

"Yup, we're done here," David said, ending the call. "Blow this place up so we can leave."

"Right," Shepard nodded, kneeling by the console again. "Tali, care to loan me a grenade?"

Tali snorted and handed one over, Shepard quickly sticking it to the small hexagonal pillar the console was formed around before pushing it back down into the core.

"Let's move," Shepard said. "We've got ten minutes before the reactor overloads and blows this whole station apart."

Just then, the platform lurched violently and a deafening, sour tone shrieked through the air. David groaned, looking to the others just as one of the Reaper's arms rose over the platforms, grabbing onto the left end.

"I told you so!" David said, raising his rifle as the Reaper's other arm grabbed the other end of the chain of platforms, raising itself before emitting that same tone as before as a roar of rage.

Everyone opened fire instantly, targeting the eyes and the mass effect core on its chest. The Reaper didn't show any noticeable reaction, but they had no better ideas. David launched a ball of explosive gas into the mass effect core and the explosion shook the platform, as well as rocking the Reaper backward and finally earning a shriek. Suddenly, the sphere in its mouth began to glow as energy began to charge and everyone targeted it, only to drop as it flashed and sent a dozen massive blasts of energy, or maybe explosive gas, flying at them.

"Hey Shepard, maybe you wanna use that particle beam?" Jack suggested.

He nodded, swapping his rifle for it just as the Reaper lowered itself below the platforms again. David looked around, waiting for something to happen, but after a moment, the Reaper rose. Then, the cycle began again. It shrieked at them. They shot at it. It charged a blast from its mouth. They ducked into cover for the blast, and then it ducked into cover. On the fourth repetition of the cycle, after what David had counted of five minutes, it began to do something else, its spine arched backward and David's eyes widened.

"Move!" he shouted, grabbing Jack and sprinting for the next platform over.

Shepard likewise pulled Tali off of the one they were on, heading in the other direction, and a moment later, the tail exploded up from below the platform, sending it spinning and flipping away. However, it also removed its cover. Everyone opened fire, Jack hurling a Warp, Shepard following it up with a throw to set off a biotic detonation, Tali sending a Combat Drone to self destruct inside the core, and David firing several exploding omni-bow bolts into its eyes and core. Finally, its Mass Effect Core exploded, smaller explosions beginning to tear through its torso and neck, leaving behind an inferno of flames. The Reaper shrieked, rearing back, then fell forward, its right arm falling toward the platforms. David's gut dropped instantly. The Reaper crashed down on the chain of platforms instantly, all of their anti-gravity tech exploding. The platforms began to list heavily and Jack began to skid toward the edge, shouting in fear. David dove after her, catching her right hand with his left before catching and exposed cable with his free hand, grunting as he jerked to a stop, Jack clinging to his arm with both hands. Below them, the Reaper crashed down on something, David couldn't tell what, and an explosion bloomed, the concussion hurling her back up onto the platform and threw the platforms all in the other direction. They began to fall rapidly this time, and Jack and David clung to each other as they rolled toward the other edge. They slammed into a low wall and stopped, Shepard and Tali barely remaining on their feet on the same platform. All around them support struts and platforms shot up past them as they fell and the other platforms fell past them, some exploding against one part of the ship or another. Finally, an explosion sent them spinning toward a wall and David yelped, grabbing Jack and overloading his omni-tool to supercharge his shield, which he extended to her just as she likewise formed a barrier around both of them. Then, they exploded into a wall hard, the platform embedding itself in it as debris crashed down around them.

After a moment, David woke as something heavy and metal crashed to the ground and groaned, looking around. Shepard was walking over to Tali to check on her while David and Jack were pinned under a massive metal plate. He groaned, unwrapping his arms from Jack and bracing them on the metal. He growled in effort pushing, and after a moment, he managed to get it off of Jack enough for her to slip out from under it and grab it. He slid himself out from under it and she let it drop, then pulled him up, David sucking in a harsh breath as pain speared through his left leg from the middle of his thigh. He held a hand to it and grit his teeth. Of all the time to have a broken leg.

"EDI, how long do we have?" David asked.

"Two minutes," EDI said, David and the others all swearing loudly.

"Run!" Shepard shouted.

Jack took David's left arm over her shoulders instantly and began to run, David hobble running as fast as he could to keep up. Then, Seekers swarmed into the tunnel behind them, along with Collectors. Shepard and Tali fired back into them as they ran, but David could hear the Seekers gaining rapidly.

"Human," Harbinger's voice called out. "You have changed nothing. Your species has the attention of those infinitely your greater."

They skidded around a corner just as Cade managed to dig a syringe out of his pocket, one filled with the strongest local anesthetic money could illegally buy, which he'd been saving for an emergency since the Collector Ship. He jabbed it into his left leg and it auto-injected the pain killer just as they skidded around a corner.

"Those that you know as Reapers are your salvation through destruction," the Harbinger continued.

All feeling in David's left upper leg faded in seconds and he pushed off of her, beginning to sprint alongside her just as they passed a side hallway Collectors were swarming toward them from. He shot a handful of bullets at them but didn't slow his sprint. Bullets began to fly past and around them, forcing the Seekers to break off in favor of the Collectors shooting at them. Then, as they sprinted toward a platform that dead-ended in an open shaft, the Normandy rose from below the edge. The airlock opened and Joker stepped into view with Garrus, both opening fire at the Collectors. Bullets began to slam into the ship around them, but they made no move to stop. Debris began to fall from above, smashing the edge of the platform. Tali jumped first, then Jack. David leapt off with his right foot and barely cleared the jump. A massive chunk of debris exploded down on the platforms that had been attached to the edge of the open floor, breaking them loose and dropping them. Cade began to open fire as well as Shepard jumped. He barely managed to slam into the edge at armpit level and Tali grabbed him instantly, hauling him up into the airlock as the others all fired at the Collectors, Jack holding a barrier to block the Collectors' bullets for the airlock while letting them shoot out of it.

"Get us the fuck out of here!" Shepard ordered just as he managed to roll into the airlock. David slammed the controls, sealing it as the Normandy pulled away from the platform, EDI gunning it instantly.

They all hurried inside, Joker, Tali, and Shepard heading for the cockpit while David leaned back against the wall he'd inevitably be thrown toward, Jack leaning into him and deactivating his helmet for him.

"We made it," Jack smiled.

"Don't count us out yet," Cade said, hearing EDI counting down from ten. "We could still die."

"Then I want to die happy," Jack said, kissing him.

He smiled, kissing her back just as the ship lurched in the initial detonation. He wrapped his arms around her, feeling her fear of dying starting to creep into the kiss, and held her tightly. Then, the ship reached the Mass Relay and the force of accelerating pressed Jack into him harder, despite the kinetic dampeners, and he smiled. Now they had made it. Jack sighed in relief, kissing him for a few more seconds before pulling away.

"Let's get you to Chakwas," Jack said.

"Preferably before she uses that scanner I upgraded," David said.

Jack laughed and nodded, taking his left arm over her shoulders again and helping him away from the airlock.

* * *

David sighed, setting his head back against the wall. He was lucky. It wasn't a full break. Just a deep muscle bruise and a nasty crack in the bone. It'd heal in about three days, apparently, as long as he could resist walking on it. Around him, the others were cleaning their weapons after the mission, a couple looking at datapads. He, on the other hand, was doing the only thing he cared to. Sitting against the wall with Jack nestled into his side and his arms wrapped tightly around her. Finally, Shepard walked in, looking around at them all before taking a deep breath.

"As of now, this is no longer a Cerberus Vessel," Shepard said. "I'm done with the Illusive Man. Miranda, Jacob, if you can't accept that, or you want to return to Cerberus, that's up to you. We can drop you off wherever you want."

"Nah, I'm done," Jacob said. "After the shit the Illusive Man pulled on that Collector Ship, and then wanting to keep that base, I'm done."

"I agree," Miranda nodded. "I can't continue to work for an organization that would use what the Collectors did."

Shepard nodded. "Alright. Then I suppose it's time to decide where everyone's going to go from here. Earlier in the mission, when I left for a mission on my own, I went to the Aratoht System to investigate claims of the Reapers' arrival. I stopped it, but at the cost of blowing up the Batarians' Mass Relay and killing everyone in the system. I'm going to turn myself in to the Alliance and face whatever punishment they deem fit. You all should decide where you go. Dismissed."

He turned and walked away. David sighed, leaning his head against Jack's and she tightened her arms around him.

"I suppose that's it then," David said. "Our job's done."

"I guess so," Jack said. "So. What now?"

"I believe I remember agreeing to a beach," David said.

Jack laughed, nodding. "Sounds familiar."

He smiled, kissing the top of her head, and she curled into him tighter, closing her eyes.

* * *

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	25. Chapter 25

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

Sex on a Beach

David yawned, stretching his arms over his head as he lay back on the beach. After a moment, Jack dropped onto his legs, dressed in only a pair of black bikini bottoms with strings tied on the sides. She had foregone the top since she both knew that he would appreciate the decision, which he definitely did, and also because there was zero chance of anyone seeing them, as the beach they were relaxing on was a random deserted planet on an undeveloped tropical world in the ass end of nowhere out in the Terminus systems. David had checked thoroughly before they landed. The closest people on the planet was a smuggler's den on the opposite side of the planet, but just in case, they'd payed the smugglers handsomely to allow them to use the beach for a few days.

"You look very comfortable," Jack smiled.

"Getting less comfortable by the second having you sitting in my field of view dressed like that," David said, shifting slightly so that his rapidly growing erection pressed into her.

Jack hummed in satisfaction, smiling and closing her eyes, splaying her hands on his chest for a moment before opening her eyes again and smiling down at him. "That's tempting, but I'm supposed to be trying to make us fancy beach drinks. I just came over here for a kiss."

"I suppose I can do that," David smiled.

Jack rolled her eyes and leaned down, kissing him for several long minutes before pulling away and walking the few feet to where she was trying to mix martinis, unsuccessfully, though he'd drink it anyway just to make her happy. It wasn't her fault, of course. She usually just drank her alcohol straight, as did he, so neither of them really knew how to make a martini properly. However, there were no bars on their side of the planet, let alone near the beach they were on, so neither minded.

His omni-tool beeped suddenly and he tore his eyes away from her mostly-nude form to read the message he'd received in a small holographic window that appeared over it. He smiled as soon as he read it, closing it and sitting up. "Hey Jack."

She looked over at him, seeing him holding a hand out to her and smiled, taking his hand and settling into her lap again. "You're making it pretty hard to make martinis."

"That's fine," David smiled. "This is important. Do you remember Grissom Academy?"

"The Alliance Biotic school the Teltin scientists snuck into?" Jack asked. "The Ascension Project, right?"

"Yeah," David nodded. "I sent them a message after the suicide mission."

"Why?" Jack asked suspiciously.

"Because you still have an extremely large bounty on your head, Jack," David said. "However, according to a message I just received back from them, they've agreed to erase your criminal record in exchange for you being one of the biotic instructors there."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "And when were you planning to tell me about your plan?"

"Not a plan," David said. "An option. You don't have to accept. It's just an option that now exists."

"Do you think I should accept?" Jack asked.

"I think you should do what you want," David said. "However, I _would_ be happy knowing that you don't have to worry about bounty hunters or mercs coming after you anymore."

Jack sighed. "Fine. I'll give it a chance. What about you, though? If I'm a biotics instructor at Grissom Academy, what will you do? Your biotics suck."

"Oh, I'm going back to the Blue Runs," David said, Jack's eyes widening in surprise. "I've gotten a taste for adventure now. I ain't giving that up for anything."

"Wha..." Jack's eyes widened before a grin split David's face, despite his best efforts. Jack shrieked in disbelief and mock outrage. "Fuck you! You are such a fucking dick!"

David laughed, wrapping his arms around her when she tried to stand, then rolled, pinning her to the beach and kissing her for a few seconds. "Come on, Jack. Do you really believe I'd go anywhere after all the work I put in to get you to admit you love me?"

Jack smiled, David seeing relief in her eyes. "You'd better not."

David smiled, one hand reaching up to gently brush some sand from her cheek. "You were worried, weren't you?"

"I don't want to lose you," Jack admitted, her smile slipping and a sad, worried expression replacing it. "I can't. I don't think I could handle that."

David smiled, kissing her again. "You never will. I promise."

She smiled and nodded.

"Now, where's my martini?" David asked. "I thought you were supposed to be making them."

Jack rolled her eyes and groaned in mock annoyance, shoving him off of her. He laughed as he rolled onto his back, clasping his hands behind his head again. After a moment, Jack hummed approvingly.

"It just occurred to me, but all that training with Jacob and Thane really worked wonders," Jack said, trailing a finger over the toned, if small, muscles of his abdomen.

"No kidding," David nodded. "You know what, though?"

"What's that?" Jack asked.

"I still don't have a martini," David smirked.

Jack glared at him. "Don't make me fling you out into the water with my biotics."

David hummed thoughtfully. "Yeah, I'll pass. I'll behave."

"Good," Jack said, giving him a quick kiss before returning to making martinis. For the next few minutes she continued to try and make a martini before finally kneeling beside him again, holding out a glass. "There we go. One martini. I think."

He took a drink, his mouth and throat instantly burning, but he swallowed it and smiled. "It tastes amazing."

"Good," Jack smiled, picking up her own and sitting in his lap, facing away from him as he wrapped the arm not holding his drink around her. She took a drink and instantly grimaced. "You lie like a rug."

He laughed, kissing the top of her shoulder where there was no sand. "I do."

He took another drink, allowing himself to grimace this time, before watching the sun slowly sink toward the horizon with her, both sitting in comfortable silence for a while. "Yup. Just you, me, and a few dozen moody, hormonal teenagers who have no idea how to work their biotics."

"Good, you should fit right in, then," Jack smiled back at him.

"Ouch," he said. "Now, that hurts."

"That's alright," Jack smiled, turning around in his lap and draining her martini. "You're tougher than most people. You can handle it."

David rolled his eyes, draining his own martini, then captured her lips. Jack sighed, settling into the kiss, looping her arms around his neck. David's tongue slipped out to greet hers just as hers did the same, and both sighed, holding the other tighter as the kiss began to quickly grow hungrier. One of her hands tangled in the back of his hair as the other clung to the side of his neck. His own hands slid up to begin massaging her mounds, pulling a low moan from her lips before he leaned forward, laying her on her back. He began to kiss his way down her neck, making sure to leave several dark bruises on each side, all the while his hands worked her breasts and nipples attentively and his thigh pressed into her, allowing her to rock her hips against his leg.

Jack moaned heavily as he captured her nipple in his mouth, sucking hard and flicking it repeatedly with his tongue. her hips rolled harder against him before he pulled his leg away, slipping his hand into her bikini bottoms instead, fingers instantly beginning to work her folds expertly yet gently, building her orgasm closer and closer steadily. Her hips rocked and rolled under him, beginning to tremble slightly as he kissed his way to her other breast. He looked up at her after a bit, smiling as she tried to look down at him, only for him to sweep his fingers over her clit and make her eyes roll back and her eyelids flutter closed as she moaned heavily in pleasure, hands grabbing fistfuls of sand as they tried to find something to grab in order to keep her grounded. He loved her reactions to him being gentle. She loved rough sex, but whenever he was gentle with her, she simply lost it. She wasn't used to it, like she was rough sex, so she didn't know how to handle it, and ended up more sensitive to it.

He began to kiss his way down her abdomen, feeling her muscles clench and quiver under her skin. He smiled, slipping his hand out of her bikini bottoms in order to pull them down, then stopped, lifting his head to stare at an obviously recent tattoo. "Property of David" was now stamped in a slight arch across the middle of her pelvis. He stared at it for a long moment before looking up at her, seeing her giving him a knowing smile.

"Nothing says commitment quite like your name as a pelvic stamp, right?" Jack asked.

David choked up instantly and moved up, kissing her fiercely. She let out something between a sigh and a whimper and returned the kiss in kind, holding him tightly.

"I'm yours, David," Jack said. "Only yours."

"I love you so much!" David smiled, eyes watering as he kissed her again.

As Jack kissed him back again, she reached down, guiding him into her, then moaned as he filled her slowly. Once he was fully seated inside of her, he stopped, feeling her trembling and quivering around him, still on the verge of finishing from his earlier diligence. Her hands clung tightly to his back, and he could feel her desperation to finish through the kiss, but she didn't pull away, move, or beg. She wanted him to do what he wanted, because she knew that whatever he did would be worth the wait. He'd proven that numerous times before the suicide mission. He smiled, pulling back from the kiss and shifted his hips slightly, just enough to tease her and make her moan loudly, hands clenching.

"You're so beautiful," David smiled adoringly down at her, the smile growing when she blushed slightly, still not used to people complimenting her just for the sake of wanting her to know it was true, rather than to try and get in her pants.

"I'm no-Ah!" Her eyes rolled back as he pulled most of the way out to cut off her denial, then pushed back in slowly, her dripping snatch squelching softly as he filled it again.

He stopped once he was inside again, Jack trembling and twitching under him, breathing coming in quick gasps and pants as her tunnel quivered and twitched agitatedly around him. She was a lot closer than he realized.

"You're beautiful," David said, kissing her neck softly, making her tilt her head to the side and moan. As he continued, the spoke between kisses. "You're amazing...talented...strong...beautiful...perfect."

"D-David," Jack whimpered, hands pawing at his back as she continued to tremble around him. "Please. Please let me cum."

David smiled widely against her neck. Something about hearing Jack plead, hearing her ask permission for anything, especially this, pulled at him. He knew for a fact, without even having to ask, that no one had ever heard those words from her before. She would have rather died than let anyone else see her be submissive. She'd have thought it made her weak.

He smiled, moving up and kissing her, then began to move his hips in a slow, steady rhythm, just barely slow enough to keep Jack from finishing, despite her perilously close she was to toppling over the edge. She clutched at him, moaning, gasping, panting, and whimpering into the kiss, and yet still he held her there. Finally, he pulled back and her head fell backward, soft pleas rolling out of her mouth instantly in between gasps and pants for breath. He finally began to thrust into her in earnest, speeding up rapidly and cutting off her begging by making her gasp harshly as her orgasm exploded through her. She bucked and shook beneath him, face flushed scarlet and mouth open in a silent scream as her tunnel clenched and spasmed around him, milking his cock as it continued to spear her over and over. Finally, as he began to piston in and out of her as fast and hard as he could, she gasped in a desperate breath before beginning to moan and wail in pleasure, her cries drowning out the wet sound of their love.

"Oh fuck!" Jack wailed. "Don't stop! Fuck! Please don't stop!"

David smiled, lifting her into his lap and she began to bounce instantly. He stuck his right hand's middle and ring fingers in his mouth for a moment, then reached back, Jack crying out in surprise and pleasure as both shoved themselves knuckle-deep into her other entrance on her next drop. She began to ride him harder, her cries growing more hoarse and desperate as she did, and David groaned, feeling himself starting to slip as well. Jack kissed him instantly, redoubling her efforts in order to try and make him finish.

"Please, David," Jack panted between kisses. "Please cum for me. Please let me feel you fill me."

He groaned, beginning to finger her ass faster and thrusting up into her in time with her drops. She began to moan and gasp in pleasure as she rapidly sped toward her own orgasm again, refusing to break the kiss, and after a few more moments, David grunted as Jack slammed down onto him, both snapping together, her clenching and undulating tunnel milking every drop from him as both held each other tightly. Finally, they began to settle and the kiss, which had been little more than them muffling their respective moan and groan of pleasure with each other's lips, resumed at a languid, patient tempo, both panting for breath all the while. Finally, Jack pulled away, resting her forehead against his and he smiled as he stared up into her eyes adoringly.

"How?" Jack asked, confusion and shame pulling the skin around the corners of her eyes and on her forehead into creases. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?" David asked.

"How do you look at me...at my scars...and still think I'm beautiful?" Jack asked.

David smiled. "Because I don't care about the scars, Jack. The only thing I care about it you. Your scars just prove that you went through Hell and survived. They prove that you're stronger than anyone else, because you didn't let them destroy you, and you don't let what they did to you define you. That alone makes them a part of your beauty."

Jack smiled adoringly. "I love you."

"I love you too," David smiled.

They stayed like that for a long while, his still-hard member still firmly planted inside of her and her both holding the other, foreheads resting against each other's and their eyes closed, simply enjoying each other's presence.

"You know, you're the only person that's ever made me beg," Jack said, blushing slightly. "I always thought that begging made someone weak, but..."

"It doesn't make you weak," David smiled.

"I know," Jack smiled. "I know that now. It felt...a little scary to give up control like that. Or, at least, to show that I was, since you were already in control. But...because it as you...it was kind of fun."

"I'll bear that in mind for next time," David smiled.

"Oh no you don't," Jack smirked. "Just because I begged for it once doesn't mean you're going to dominate me now."

David laughed, kissing her. "I know. I'll have to work for that."

Jack inhaled deeply, but settled into the kiss. After a few more seconds, however, she pulled back, smirking. "Want to try the other hole now?"

David smiled. "If you want to."

"Oh, I definitely do," Jack said, shifting her hips and moaning. "You should be lubed up enough."

"Oh, don't worry about that," David said, then let out a slow breath as Jack finally lifted up off of him, then turned around to get on all fours. "I tweaked my omni-tool a bit more. I can do this, now."

He used his omni-tool's fabricator to make lube, which formed in his palm before he began to spread it around the hole he was about to use. Jack gasped instantly.

"No fucking way!" Jack said, looking back at him. "You can make anal lube with your omni-tool!?"

"I can make almost anything with it now," David said. "Lube, liquor, cake."

"Oh my God!" Jack said. "That is the single best invention I've ever heard of!"

David laughed, gripping her hips and lining himself up with her ass. "Are you ready?"

"Go slow," Jack said. "It's been a while since I've had anything besides your fingers in there, and nothing as big as you."

David nodded, pressing against her hole for a moment before managing to slip into her. She gasped instantly, then moaned, pressing back against him as he slowly worked himself back and forth, inching deeper into her ass each time until he was fully rooted inside of her. She moaned, her sphincter clenching and releasing around the intruding object for several moments before she began to rock against him. He took the hint and began to pull out slowly until only his head was left, then pushed back in just as slowly. Jack moaned heavily as he did, then began to pulled forward the moment his hips met the firm flesh of her ass.

"Faster," Jack moaned. "Harder."

He complied speeding up quickly, and after a couple of minutes, he was slamming into her over and over in earnest, his hips slapping against her ass rapidly as she moaned and wailed in pleasure. He groaned as he fucked her and suddenly Jack's arms gave out, her upper body dropping into the sand. However, David made no move to stop, and Jack didn't ask him to. He began to pound her hole harder as her right hand moved between her legs, shoving two of her fingers into her cunt while her thumb worked her clit, her cries of pleasure growing louder quickly. David felt his rope running up quickly and fought to hold it. Her ass was much tighter than her pussy, and it was making it hard for him to hold out. However, just as he felt himself start to slip, Jack cried out in pleasure, slamming back against him rapidly as their combined juices suddenly squirted out of her around her fingers. Then, he broke, yanking her ass back against him several times as he flooded her again, every thrust sending a fresh wave. Finally they both began to settle, and he slipped out of her, his member beginning to soften. He dropped onto his back with a satisfied groan and Jack turned around and lay on top of him, brushing the sand off of her head before kissing him.

"That was so much better than I expected," Jack said, resting her head on his chest. "I'm not walking right for a few days."

David chuckled, kissing the top of her head. "That's alright. I'll just take care of you wherever you're laying so you don't have to."

Jack half-hummed-half-moaned in approval. "That sounds like a deal. So, which do you like better?"

David smiled, wrapping his arms around her. "Whichever one you want me to use at the time."

"No," Jack said. "I want to know. I want to know what you like."

David smiled, reaching up and brushing some remaining sand from her cheek. "I like the first one better. Your ass is tight and feels incredible, but it feels more...personal...intimate, I suppose, in your pussy."

Jack smiled, nodding. "My thoughts exactly."

David smiled and pulled her down into a kiss for a few seconds before she lay her head on his chest. "Nap time. Then when we wake up, I'll get to enjoy my favorite snack."

Jack hummed approvingly. "Can't wait."

He smiled, wrapping his arms around her and she wrapped hers up under his shoulders before they both drifted off to sleep.

* * *

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	26. Chapter 26

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

Another Normal Day

David watched as the students each formed a barrier. Jack hurled a Warp at each. Most did okay. Prangley, a male student and one of the best with his biotics, made a barrier that showed no sign of having been hit at all, though Jack _was_ holding back a lot. Rodriguez, however, Prangley's obvious crush who liked him back but neither would do anything about it, failed to maintain her barrier when Jack's Warp hit and grunted in discomfort, holding a hand to her head.

"Weak, Rodriguez," Jack scolded. "You're almost as bad as David."

"That's a little harsh," David said.

"Quiet you!" Jack snapped.

David "eep"ed in surprise and winked out of existence, Jack rolling her eyes as the students all laughed.

"Drama Queen," Jack said. "What happened to the guy that used his Tech Armor to keep me from being shot in the back?"

"He's on vacation," David said, reappearing.

Jack shook her head, turning back to the students. "Again, Rodriguez."

Rodriguez focused, recreating her barrier, and this time managed to hold it, if only barely, when Jack's Warp hit it.

"Attention Grissom Academy," a feminine voice said over the speaker suddenly. "All students return to your classrooms. All staff come to the main server room."

David and Jack shared a confused look.

"You heard the lady," David said. "Off you all go."

The students all turned and headed for their classroom as David and Jack headed the other way.

"What does Sanders want now?" Jack asked.

"I don't know," David said. "But it's been about six months. Didn't Shepard say the Reapers were about to enter the Aratoht system before we stopped the Collectors? If that's true, maybe..."

"Don't even say it," Jack said, running a hand over the hair she'd grown out on top of her head, tugging lightly at her pony tail, as she did whenever she was nervous or stressed. "I'm enjoying our peaceful life here."

David slipped his hand into her and gave it a light squeeze and she smiled, returning it. After a few more minutes, they reached the office and saw the others all standing around a computer. They walked over, everyone moving out of their way so they could see the video feed. Reapers, massive, black ships with glowing yellow lights along their bodies, the shape of which reminded David of krill, were descending on what looked like New York, massive red lasers tearing through the city and laying waste to everything. The feed switched and David placed Big Ben with a similar scene of destruction unfolding around it. Then the city was what David was pretty sure was Vancouver, again under Reaper assault. In each city, there were Alliance warships and frigates trying to fight them but being slaughtered.

"Wasn't Admiral Hackett supposed to be guarding the Sol relay?" David asked.

"He sent out a message," Kahlee Sanders, the woman who'd called them all in to see what was happening, said. "The Reapers obliterated his fleet before they could even send a warning. Whatever's left is in full retreat out of the Sol System. He's ordered a full evacuation from the system."

"Shit," David breathed. "Shepard was on Earth, wasn't he?"

"Shepard will be fine," Jack said. "Christ, look at all of them."

David looked back at the screen, which was showing a ground war now, Alliance soldiers shooting at an army of Husks, as well as other creatures that looked like blobs of brown flesh with arms and legs and a gun for a right hand, which were firing blasts of red energy, from what David could see on the screen. "I fucking hate Husks."

Jack nodded in agreement. "What do we tell the kids?"

Everyone looked around silently for a moment.

"Tell them the truth," Kahlee said. "They have the right to know what's going on."

Everyone nodded and left, heading back to their classes, David giving Jack a kiss before returning to his own class, which specialized in all things Tech.

"What's going on, sir?" one of the males asked.

"As of this moment, Earth is under invasion by a race of sentient machines known as Reapers," David said. "They're massive warships with more power and better shielding than any ship in any of this galaxy's fleets. As ground troops, they use corpses that have been forcibly fused with machines and look like mechanical zombies, called Husks, and some kind of bloated creature with a gun for an arm. I'm sure you'll see videos of it soon, but for now, we've been instructed to tell you. The galaxy is now officially at war with the Reapers."

The reactions were instant, panic and confusion all around. He sighed, giving them a few minutes to get it out of their system before quieting them down.

"For the time being, nothing has changed about your lives here, beyond knowing that's happening," David said. "However, if I had to guess, you should expect for the academy to step up security, possibly step up combat-oriented training, and if things get bad, or the Reapers start getting close to this system, you'll be evacuated. If any of that happens, try to bear with it, and if it _does_ come to an evacuation, or the academy is attacked by Reaper forces, I _will_ keep you all safe. Not that I'll have to. I've taught you all plenty to defend yourselves in the case of an evacuation. Now, does anyone have any specific concerns that need to be addressed immediately?"

No one spoke up.

"Alright, you can all return to your group projects," David said. "Make sure to keep your omni-tools' communicators on in case I need to get in touch with any of you."

Everyone got up and left and David headed back to the room where Jack had been training her students, and was doing so again already. Most of them seemed nervous, but they were focused on their training, as always.

"How'd you break it to them?" David asked as Jack gave him a hug.

"How do you think?" Jack asked.

"I'd imagine a lot of 'fucks' and a few 'assholes' and a speech about repainting walls with biotics," David smirked.

Jack rolled her eyes. "Very funny. Kids, take five."

The students all broke up into small groups, probably to talk about the attack on Earth, and Jack and David walked away from them.

"Kahlee sent me a message to tell me she wants us to start carrying our guns, and for you to wear your armor," Jack said quietly. "I was going to head back to our room after I got done with the kids in order to grab mine."

"I'll go get changed now, then," David said. "Want me to just bring you yours?"

"Would you?" Jack asked.

"Of course," David smiled, kissing her. "Back in a bit."

She nodded and he walked through the station to his and Jack's private quarters, opening the locker he kept his armor and their weapons in. As he got his armor on, he glanced into the open closet at one of Jack's spare outfits, all completely identical and questionable, at best, for a teacher. She had swapped out her obviously inappropriate chest belt for a white top that was barely more than a bikini top. It was a "V" in front to the bottom of her cleavage, then a pair of triangles reaching up onto her breasts before dropping back down and wrapping around under her arms, the bottom of it being just above the bottom of her ribs, leaving her entire abdomen exposed. On her lower body, she wore a pair of faded, green, digital camouflage pants with the sides missing over her hips down to halfway down her thighs, a thick, black, leather belt to use the two belt loops in front and two in the back to hold the top of her pants up, a black leather strap hanging by her left thigh as a fashion statement, from what David could tell, a pair of knee-high black boots with lightweight bulletproof armor on the shins, black straps around her lower thighs attached to the tops of the boots to help hold them in place, and a tight, black, studded, leather half-jacket with extra fabric in the shoulders and armpits to allow freedom of movement, and magnet plates attached to the back to hold her guns, as well as one on the back of her belt for her shotgun.

The only other thing she wore was an inch-and-a-half white strap wrapping from one garter on her upper thigh, up around the outside of her hip, across her abdomen over her navel, around behind her back, diagonally across her upper chest over her collarbones, then behind her neck before taking the opposing trail back down, crossing itself at her collarbones and navel before being attached to the other garter. He wasn't sure why she wore it, but it suited the rest of the outfit and made it just a hair more appropriate, if only barely. It was also a good place to stick the controller for a small vibrator, as he'd done once simply because she said he wouldn't after he made a joke. That day had been interesting.

He shook his head, returning his thoughts to the task at hand, finishing putting his armor on before grabbing his Mattock and his new N7 Hurricane, which he'd acquired through other-than-legal means and had upgraded to not need thermal clips. He put both guns where they belonged before calling Kahlee.

"Hello?" Kahlee asked.

"Just double checking, but did you ask Jack to have me and her carry weapons?" David asked.

"Yes I did," Kahlee confirmed. "You two worked with Commander Shepard against the Collectors, so you two are easily the most capable fighters on the station. If we get attacked, I want you two as our first responders."

"While I appreciate the sentiment, and the compliment, you _do_ realize that my first action in the event of an attack is to make sure my class is safe, right?"

"I know," Kahlee said. "It's mostly to make me feel better."

"Very well," David said, ending the call and grabbing Jack's shotgun and Paladin, which he'd also gotten through other-than-legal means.

He left the room and headed back to where Jack was training her kids and she smiled, walking over to get her guns as the students all gaped at him.

"No way!" one of the boys hissed. "That's N-Seven armor!"

"_David_ was an N-Seven?" a girl asked just as quietly. "Can't be!"

"Hey, this isn't gossip practice," Jack said. "Keep working."

The students all hurriedly went back to work, and David chuckled.

"I'm going to head back to my class," David said. "They should be just about done for the day."

"Alright," Jack smiled. "I'll see you back at the room."

He nodded, giving her a quick kiss, then left the room, heading back to his class's room. The collective gasp was immediate.

"I _told_ you he was an N-Seven!" one of the boys near the back hissed. "How _else_ would he have that armor and a Hurricane?"

"I wasn't an N-Seven," David said calmly, everyone staring at him. "While I was working with Commander Shepard to stop the Collectors, I needed armor, so I was allowed to requisition this. The Hurricane, on the other hand, is a more recent toy I found on certain parts of the extranet. Now, is anyone ready for me to inspect their projects?"

One girl, Octavia, one of his smartest, raised her hand. "Our shield projector isn't done, but we've hit a wall. Would you mind taking a look?"

"Sure," David nodded. "Everyone else, go ahead and head to evening chow. Whenever you get done eating, you're on free time."

Everyone besides Octavia and her project's partner, Isaac, left and David followed them out of the room and through several hallways to a small room near the station's armory. Their shield projector was a round pylon sticking up from the floor with a screen on one side about halfway up, and two plates at the top opened to expose the projector. However, when they walked in, David Archer was kneeling beside it, typing on the controls.

"Hello David," David smiled.

"Hello David Two," Archer replied.

"Square root of nine thousand six point oh one?" David asked.

"Ninety four point nine," Archer replied instantly.

"That never ceases to amaze me," Octavia said.

"Guns," Archer said. "Is it going to get loud in here?"

"I hope not," David said. "If it does, just stick with Octavia and Isaac and they'll keep you safe, alright?"

"Alright," Archer said.

Suddenly, the barrier activated, forming a domed barrier with light catching on the sides to show the hexagonal individual barriers the projector had formed to make a barrier.

"He got it working!" Isaac gasped. "Amazing David!"

"The programming's math was wrong," Archer said.

"Do you mind if I test it, David?" David asked.

"The Square Root of nine hundred six point oh one is thirty point one," Archer said. "I don't mind."

David nodded and pulled his Mattock off his back, both Octavia and Isaac forming their Tech Armor before David shot the barrier several times, the shots stopping short and doing nothing to the barrier. He nodded approvingly and put his gun away leaning out into the hallway where several teachers were looking around worriedly, only to stare at him.

"Sorry," he said. "Just testing a barrier."

They all groaned, heading back into their classrooms and Archer deactivated the barrier as David got a call from Kahlee.

"Oops," David said. "I'm in trouble." He answered the call.

"I'd appreciate it if you'd refrain from shooting in the school," Kahlee said. "At the very least warn us first."

"Sorry," David said. "I didn't think about it."

"I could tell," Kahlee sighed. "Just try not to scare anyone again."

"Will do," David said. "Alright you two, go ahead and grab some chow."

Octavia and Isaac both nodded, leaving, and David walked with Archer to Jack's classroom, where Jack was waiting. She smiled instantly as she saw Archer.

"Hello David," Jack smiled. "How are you feeling today?"

"Good," Archer said. "The barrier's math was wrong."

Jack nodded, smiling. "Well, there's no one better at that than you."

Archer nodded and ambled away, Jack turning to David and wrapping her arms around him.

"You got scolded," Jack grinned.

"Yeah, I forgot to warn everyone," David shrugged.

"You're such an idiot," Jack laughed, kissing him. "I'm going to head back to the room. Mind grabbing us some food?"

"Sure," David nodded.

Jack smiled, giving him a quick kiss again before heading for the room. David went to the staff cafeteria and grabbed them both some food in a Styrofoam tray each before heading back to the room. As he opened the door however, his eyes widened a bit as he found Jack just finishing taking off the last of her clothes, currently facing away from the door. She looked back at him over her right shoulder and flashed him a knowing, playful smile as she dropped the white strap he couldn't figure out her reason for wearing to the floor and walked toward the bed. He closed and locked the door, setting their food on their room's counter top beside the microwave, which they'd be needing later, then dropped his armor and clothes within about two minutes before joining Jack on the bed, fusing his lips to hers as the hand that had been between her legs to get herself ready moved up to cup his face with her other hand.

* * *

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	27. Chapter 27

I do not own Mass Effect or any of the characters.

* * *

School Shooting

David smiled as he watched his students and Jack's fling balls of electricity equivalent of a stun gun and biotic throws at each other respectively. They had decided to have a competition to test their students, as well as to spark a competition between the classes in order to get them to improve their skills to try and do better in the next competition. Currently, it was about even for who had been taken out of the competition by being hit once and who was still fighting. They were also almost all of the students remaining. The rest of the students had been sent home shortly after the Reaper Invasion began, as did almost all the staff. David, Jack, and Kahlee were all that remained. Out of the students, only Octavia and Isaac were missing, both currently working on their shield projector, which, while functional, couldn't stay active for longer than about five minutes without overheating.

"Your kids are doing well," Jack commented.

"So are yours," David said.

"Well yes, but mine are all Biotics," Jack said. "They all should have an advantage."

"Well it helps we have them limited to biotic throws," David said. "Plus, they're not you. Tech can be upgraded, but biotics have to be trained to get stronger and better."

"True," Jack said. "Speaking of trained, I haven't seen you doing any recently."

David grimaced. "I haven't felt like passing out recently."

Jack shook her head, smirking, only to stop as the academy's intercom crackled to life, the students all stopping.

"Attention Grissom Academy," a male voice David didn't recognize said. "This is Cerberus. As of now, Grissom Academy belongs to us."

"I don't fucking believe it," Jack snarled.

"Like Hell it does," David said, opening his omni-tool. "Kahlee, Jack and I are in Orion Hall. Where are you?" He looked at Jack as he received only static. "Kahlee?" When he received only static again, he sighed, typing on his omni-tool. "Fucking Cerberus. Of all the idiots to attack this place. They should know better than to think they can keep comms jammed with me here." He tried calling again. "Kahlee?"

"David!" Kahlee gasped, sounding relieved. "I've been trying to call you for five minutes! Cerberus has control of the docking bays! I'm heading to Server Room Two to try and see how much of our station I can get control back from them for."

"Lock and disable the door behind you," David said. "Jack and I have most of the other students in Orion Hall right now. We'll bunker down here. Once you get there, put out a distress call."

"What if Cerberus blocks it?" Kahlee asked.

"Then Jack and I will figure something out," David said.

"Alright," Kahlee said. "I'm in the server room. Sealing the doors now. Be careful. There are Cerberus Troops boarding the station at all of the docking bays. I don't know what they want."

"That's fine," Jack said. "We'll deal with it."

"Okay," Kahlee said.

"I have to go," David said. "I need to call Octavia." His comms jammed again suddenly, and he rolled his eyes, typing on his omni tool again. "Really now, Cerberus. Octavia, can you hear me?"

"David!" Octavia gasped, then spoke in a hushed, urgent whisper. "What's going on!? Cerberus troops are boarding the station! They look like they're armed for a war!"

"They probably are," David said. "Are you with Isaac?"

"Yes!" Octavia said. "We're trying to get to Orion Hall with our barrier! David Archer's with us!"

"Set your barrier up where you are and turn it on as soon as anyone from Cerberus sees you," David instructed. "Ask David to check the math and see if he can make it last longer."

"Okay," Octavia said. "Are you going to come find us?"

"Yes," David said. "Where are you?"

"By the armory," Octavia said. "We only got a little ways out of the room before you called."

"Okay," David said. "Stay there. I'll be right over."

"Please hurry!" Octavia pleaded before disconnecting.

"Be careful," Jack said seriously.

"I will," David said. "Don't worry. I'll be invisible the whole way."

Jack nodded, smiling. "You're a lot more calm than I remember you being."

"Well, Cerberus can't see me when I'm invisible like the Collectors, and also I'm not being shot at yet," David smiled, then kissed her. "I'll be back soon."

Jack nodded and he left quickly, leaving Jack to tell his students where he was going and get them ready for a fight. David worked his way through the hallway quickly, keeping his cloaking tech active the entire way. Finally, he reached the armory and found Isaac, Octavia, and Archer all standing inside of a barrier, Archer keeping it active, while a pair of Cerberus troops stood outside the barrier.

"Come on now, Octavia," one of them said. "We're not going to hurt you. We just want your barrier tech."

"It's not for sale," David said, appearing behind them before driving an omni-blade through their heads. He let the blades fade and the two troops crumpled to the ground.

He took a moment to inspect them. One had a Mattock, and the other a Harrier like David's had been when he got it initially, before he had tinkered with it. The one difference between the prototype David still used and the one this Cerberus troop had was that the Cerberus troop's didn't have a semi-auto mode. It was all or nothing. Their armor was new, too. They wore identical white heavy armor with yellow on the sides of the chest plate, in a strip down the outsides of his arms and legs, and a black dome-helmet with a pair of slit eye-holes in the front that were lit up red, a breathing apparatus along the bottom of the helmet, and silver plating running up the front and over the top.

"Are you three okay?" David asked.

"We're alright," Octavia said, deactivating the shield, Isaac instantly picking up the projector.

"Is it going to get loud now?" Archer asked.

"Yes, David," David said, pulling his rifle off his back. "It's going to get loud now. Turn on your Tech Armor, and I'll keep you safe. We're heading to Orion Hall. The others are all there."

Octavia and Isaac both nodded and David handed Octavia his Hurricane.

"Short bursts," David said. "Don't take unnecessary risks."

Octavia nodded and activated her own Tech Armor, as did Isaac, and David activated his black Tech Armor.

"Sir, I've been meaning to ask," Isaac spoke up. "How did you get your hands on N-Seven Slayer Armor?"

"Technically it's not," David said. "It's one of the earlier prototypes. I needed armor while I was working with Commander Shepard, so he pulled some strings and got this for me, then I made a lot of modifications."

They stepped through a door and a pair of Cerberus troops turned toward them. David stepped in front of Archer instantly, Octavia stepping in front of Isaac, and both opened fire, dropping the Cerberus troops before they could get their guns up to shoot back. David let out a slow breath, gripping his rifle hard to keep from trembling. It had been too long since he fought. He wasn't used to it anymore.

"Oh my God!" Octavia gasped, David looking to her, seeing her eyes wide and her skin paler than usual as she breathed rapidly. "I killed him! I...I killed him!"

"Hey," David said, putting a hand on her shoulder and making her look at him. "I know how you feel, but you need to grit your teeth and bear it. You need to keep it together until we get to Orion Hall. Can you do that?"

Octavia swallowed hard and nodded. David returned the nod and stood, continuing through the hallway they were in. The others followed, and after a few minutes, they reached a huge open area with grass and flowers, what David called an oxygen factory, even though that wasn't the real purpose of it. On the far side, Cerberus troops were in the process of setting up defenses. David led Octavia and the others up to a short hallway in the room's upper level that led past the water pit taking up the middle of the room. They all crouched in cover on the far side and David looked to Octavia, who nodded. David deployed his helmet, on the face of which a targeting reticle synced to his rifle appeared in front of his left eye, since it was his dominant eye, despite him being right handed. He wasn't a huge fan of it, but for this, it would be better. He nodded to Olivia and they both stood, opening fire on the Cerberus troops in short bursts. As bullets began to fly back, bouncing off the low wall around them, Octavia dropped, but David forced himself to stay up, taking long, large breaths to control his panic as his shields flashed and flared again and again, his body flickering rapidly. Finally, just as his Tech Armor shattered, the last troop crashed to the ground, blood pooling under his head. David sighed, leaning on the low wall as his body trembled for a moment, allowing his shields to recharge before activating his Tech Armor again.

"Are you okay?" Octavia asked.

"Yeah," David nodded, winking out of sight and feeling his nerves calm slightly. "I'm going to stay invisible from here on. I'll still be with you, but this way I can shoot them without them knowing I'm there."

"Okay," Octavia said. "Am I still okay to shoot?"

"Don't," David decided. "It's not far to Orion Hall, so I should be able to handle it from here on. Keep the gun just in case, though."

Octavia nodded and David called Jack.

"Where are you!?" Jack asked instantly, gunfire sounding from her end.

"Three minutes out!" David said, all four of them running down the ramp to the lower level then toward the door leading toward Orion Hall.

"Be careful!" Jack said. "There's a lot of them between you and me!"

"We will be!" David said, then hung up.

He made sure to stay with the others as they ran, gripping his rifle tightly and keeping it raised in front of him. Then, they stepped into Orion Hall and stopped. There were dozens of troops in the room. The students were all upstairs in the observation room where Jack and David had been watching their match from, and jack was currently using the doorway on one side for cover, using her Biotics and pistol to keep Cerberus from getting close.

"Get down!" David hissed to Octavia, who led the other two over into cover behind a flower bed.

Then, David went to work, firing a short burst into a troop before moving to another spot and firing an Incineration Blast into two, moving again before using a Cryo Blast. He sent an omni-bow bolt into one troop's face and it exploded, taking out three more. He sprayed a group of them with his rifle and killed them. Jack sent a Shockwave ripping through another group and David and Octavia together quickly finished them before Octavia shot the last troop. Once everyone was dead, Octavia handed David's Hurricane back before running up the stairs with Isaac and Archer.

"Took you long enough!" Jack snapped, walking over to David as he deactivated his helmet, meeting her with a kiss. "I was so worried!"

"I'm sorry," David said. "Is everyone here okay?"

"Yeah," Jack nodded. "We're all good here, but we can't stay here forever."

"We can stay for a while," David said. "At least until someone comes for us."

Jack nodded. "Let's go upstairs to rest. I have a surprise for you. I was going to give it to you when we got back to the room, but then Cerberus happened."

David raised an eyebrow and followed her up the stairs to the observation room and Jack grabbed small box off one of the tables and handed it to him. He opened it and gasped, then grinned, pulling out his Locust, the same that Kasumi had given him, then that he had sent to her to have fixed once it broke, resulting in him needing his Hurricane to replace it.

"When did it get here?" David asked.

"Just now," Kasumi said from behind David, who spun. "Nice to see you again, David."

"Kasumi!" David cheered, hugging her. "God it's been so long! How'd you get here?"

"The same way you joined the suicide mission, as I recall," Kasumi said. "I stowed away on the wrong ship."

"You stowed away on a Cerberus Cruiser?" David asked, raising an eyebrow. "How, exactly?"

"That's a long story," Kasumi said. "So, have we sent out a distress signal?"

"Yes," David said. "I don't know who answered it, though."

"Is this thing working?" Kahlee suddenly said over the intercom. "Shepard, you're a miracle worker."

"Shepard?" David asked. "You think it's John or Jane?"

"Gotta be ours," Jack said.

"Students, if you can hear me, this is Kahlee Sanders!"

"Go, go, go!" a Cerberus troop shouted suddenly from off to one side.

"Shit!" David growled. "More company!"

He and Kasumi both turned invisible instantly, all three of the former suicide squad members heading down to meet Cerberus, Jack starting with a Shockwave. David opened fire with his rifle on the group on the left and Kasumi used her Locust to take out the group on the right. However, just as they finished, a screech of metal on metal went off behind them. They spun, seeing a massive white mech with a Cerberus troop inside , protected by bulletproof yellow glass scraping through the door. Its right arm rose toward Jack, but Jack's arm snapped up, forming a barrier in time for an explosive round to go off against it, failing to get through.

"Jack!" Shepard shouted from the room's front door suddenly as Jack's barrier began to change into a pulse of biotic energy.

David heard a mechanical whir behind him and hurled himself toward Jack, tackling her out of the way just as a heavy turret roared to life. Nearly fifty bullets ripped into David's shields and Tech Armor in the second it took David and Jack to fall into cover behind a flower bed.

"David!" Jack gasped, looking at him, only to see he wasn't hurt, his shields still active, though flickering as fast as he was.

"Holy shit!" he gasped, breathing in ragged, panicked gasps and voice pinched. "I'm so glad I upgraded my shields again! Fuck I forgot how much I hate being shot at!"

Jack sighed in relief, looking to the mech, which Shepard was distracting, then to the turret just as Kasumi appeared behind the Cerberus engineer beside it, her omni-tool sending out an explosion that destroyed both the turret and and the engineer. Then, she vanished again just before bullets began to slam into the floor.

"Are you alright?" she asked quietly after a moment from beside David.

"Fine," David said, pushing himself up and looking down at his Harrier, which was riddled with bullet holes now. "Shit."

He tossed it aside and drew his Locust before looking to the students. "Jack, head upstairs and covert he kids."

Jack nodded and turned, running for the stairs while Kasumi and David shot the Cerberus troops on the ground floor, killing several and pinning the rest of them down for Jack to blast with a Shockwave as she ran. Then, David and Kasumi both winked out of sight and scattered. Several more Cerberus troops ran through the door, only to be greeted by a ball of explosive gas, all of them being killed. David turned to the mech as Shepard dove out of the way of a rocket. As he did, Liara and a synthetic with a female design and hair curling forward just over the shoulders into a pair of spikes opened fire on it, the synthetic using a Predator pistol, but Liara using a sleek white pistol that was firing spherical sticky grenades, which exploded every six she shot. Even with the mech's shields, the explosions were denting its armor. David and Kasumi both sent out a pulse of electricity to overload its shields, and the next time Liara's grenades exploded, the glass shattered. Then, Shepard stood and shot the soldier driving it.

David sighed, deactivating his cloaking tech as Kasumi did the same in front of him, holding a hand up. He gave her a high five, grinning, then looked up to Jack, who smiled in relief, seeing that he wasn't hurt. Then, he turned to Shepard and the other two, wondering who the synthetic was.

"When we put out an SOS, I had no idea the King of the Boy Scouts would show up," Jack laughed, then turned to her students, David walking up to his own. "Alright, Amp check! Prangley, those fields were weak! Cerberus isn't going to lie down out of pity like that girl you took to prom."

The other students laughed, Rodriguez giving him a playful shove and David turned to his students.

"Everyone okay?" David asked, receiving nods. "Good. Make sure your omni-tools are charged, keep your Tech Armor active, and keep your fabricators primed. You'll probably have to fight a bit more on the way out."

"Are these your students?" Kasumi asked.

"Yeah," David nodded. "This group is my tech class, that group is Jack's biotic kids. Everyone, this is Kasumi Goto, an old friend from the mission with Commander Shepard."

The two classes greeted her and David left her to tell them a few stories, as she instantly began to, While David went to talk to Shepard with Jack.

"Oh, you feel bad?" Jack was asking Shepard, having already punched him. "Well shit! I bet that's a big comfort to all the people Cerberus has killed!"

"Jack's personality seems largely unchanged," the synthetic said in EDI's voice.

"Hey EDI," Jack said without missing a beat, meanwhile David was staring at EDI in confusion. "Now you look like a sex _bot_ instead of a sex _toy_."

"You got a body for EDI?" David asked.

"It's a long story," Liara said. "I'd forgotten how angry she was. I would have thought David had calmed you down by now."

"He tries," Jack said. "You were...what, that one Asari we helped with the Shadow Broker?"

"Nice of you to remember me," Liara said. "Jennifer."

Jack stared at her strangely, then shook her head. "Okay, right now, all I care about is getting my guys out of here."

"Your guys?" Shepard asked, smirking.

Jack sighed, then chuckled, looking up at their students. "Yeah, I guess so."

"I can't think of anybody who could care about them more," Shepard said.

"Well, we had some free time while you were off playing hero," Jack said. "Alliance Brass knew I helped you, so David was able to get me a job here in exchange for a clean record. And apparently the students responded well to my teaching style." She looked up at their students, who were eavesdropping without any sense of subtlety.

"The psychotic biotic!" Prangley laughed.

"I will destroy you!" Rodriguez quoted Jack, making a fist.

"Drink your juice, Rodriguez," Jack said. "You couldn't destroy wet tissue paper."

"And you definitely don't want the psychotic biotic right now, Prangley," David said. "That crazy bitch blows up space stations, not evacuates them. Jack the Teacher's a much better choice."

"Oh, just wait until I get you alone," Jack said. "I'll show _you_ psychotic."

"Excuse me, no sex talk in front of me, please," Kasumi said, appearing off to the side.

"Kasumi?" Shepard asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Special delivery, mixed with an escape-gone-wrong, mixed with wanting to see a friend," Kasumi shrugged.

Shepard shook his head, then turned and walked away, holding a hand to his ear. As he did, David turned to Liara.

"So, do you still have your...info broker resources?" David asked.

"I do," Liara nodded. "Is there something in specific you wanted to know?"

David hesitated, glancing at Jack, who was talking to Kasumi. "Her name. And maybe her family? A couple weeks ago, she brought up family and not knowing if she even had one. I'm not sure she'll want to meet them, or if there's anyone to meet..."

"I'll find out," Liara said.

"Thank you," David said.

"Shepard to Sanders, the students are safe, but the shuttle's a no-go," Shepard said, David, Jack, and Kasumi all turning to him.

David's omni-tool beeped and he answered instantly as his graybox's holoscreen appeared and he began to type on his omni-tool. "Go ahead."

"I need station-wide camera access," Kahlee said.

"One second," David said, his fabricator making three ear pieces, two of which he handed to Kasumi and Jack, then linked his omni-tool to the station's systems, transferring access to her. "How's that?"

"Perfect," Kahlee said as the three of them linked their earpieces to their omni-tools. "The fastest way is through the atrium, but the Cerberus sealed the doors."

"On it," David said, disabling the door's locks.

"You really are amazing," Kahlee said. "Have everyone switch to the Commander's frequency."

David nodded and scanned Shepard's ear piece. Shepard raised an eyebrow, but didn't question it. A moment later, David, Jack, and Kasumi were all listening in to the conversation.

"...force the door open now," Kahlee was saying. "It's directly below the observation room."

"On it," Shepard said, walking to the door and grunting in effort, pushing it open.

"I'll get to the shuttles ahead of you and get a pair ready to fly."

"Be careful," David said, waving the students down.

"Everyone be ready," Shepard said as the door finally opened. "We'll go in first and draw their fire."

"We'll shadow you from the second level and hit those fu...those _guys_ from above," Jack caught herself.

"That should give them some cover, too," Liara said.

"Just time your shots and stay safe," Shepard said.

"Alright, I didn't bust my ass training you so you could die now," Jack said, turning to the students. "Stay low, pick your targets."

"You too," David said, looking to his own class. "Your first task will be anything with a shield. After that, tech. If anything sets up a turret, disable it."

His class nodded.

"I'll go with Shep's group," Kasumi said. "One extra hand to cause mass mayhem."

Shepard nodded and headed for the door, Liara, Kasumi, and EDI following. However, within three feet, they stopped as the students' omni-tools all lit up and an announcement began to play from them.

"Students from Grissom Academy, the station is sealed," the Cerberus Commander said. "The Alliance Soldiers cannot save you. All they can do is get you killed. Surrender peacefully, and you won't be harmed."

"Asshole!" Jack growled.

"Dammit!" Kahlee said. "They're messaging everyone. Students, switch your omni-tools to privacy mode so they can't track you."

All of them complied.

"What if...What if they're not lying?" Rodriguez asked.

"Don't be a pussy, Rodriguez," one of David's students said. "They're about to have to fight Commander Shepard and half of his team that took down the Collectors. Plus, Jack and David have been training us for months. Cerberus is about to get destroyed."

"Well said," Jack said. "Come on, Rodriguez. They're only asking nicely 'cause you scared 'em in that last fight. So take your balls out of your purse, and kick some ass."

"It's a shame a bunch of computer nerds have more balls than one of the super-powered biotics trained by Jack," David said. "But, what can you do. That just proves tech powers win, right kids?"

His class cheered and Rodriguez glared at them.

"No way!" Rodriguez said. "We've got this!"

The other biotic students all cheered and David flashed Jack a grin, Jack rolling her eyes.

"Let's go," Shepard said, taking his team through their door.

David and Jack led the students up through the door they were taking and quickly followed the hallway on the other side, soon coming out into the upper level of an open area identical to the one David had gone through with Octavia, Isaac, and Archer.

"How're you holding up, David?" David asked.

"It's getting loud in here," Archer said, holding his hands over his ears.

He wasn't wrong. Below them, Shepard's team was already in a shootout with several groups of Cerberus troops.

"Don't worry, we'll keep you safe," David promised.

He winked out of sight and stood from behind the low wall they were using for cover, surveying the battlefield. There was another mech on the far side, and two Cerberus troops with huge metal shields closing in on Shepard's team. However, before they could get there, Kasumi appeared beside them, blasting one of them, then vanished. The one with the shield turned toward her, exposing himself to David, who sent an omni-bow bolt into his head, killing him. He turned and fired another into the mech, then ducked just before electricity exploded out of the bolt on the mech.

"Multiple combat engineers, several turrets, two shield pylons, eight shielded Centurions, and a heavy mech like before," David listed. "Focus on the mecha nd the turrets first."

His class nodded, meanwhile, Jack and her students were raining Warps and biotic throws on the Cerberus troops, careful not to get shot, but making it impossible for Cerberus to keep their heads up for more than a couple shots.

"A little help with the Atlas, please!" Shepard said as the mech focused its fire on them.

"Go!" David said.

He and his entire class stood. Half of them sent a ball of charged particles at the Atlas, as did David, and the others remotely overloaded the turrets, one of which was firing at Liara. Four people targeted that turret and the sudden massive feedback of four Overloads hitting it at once made it explode, killing its engineer too. A moment later, as all of the blasts of electricity hit the Atlas, its shield capacitors also exploded, blasting the mech into scrap and taking out a half-dozen troops around it.

"Thank you," Shepard said.

David nodded to his class and they all activated their cloaking tech, all standing and beginning to sent blasts of electricity and explosive gas raining on the Cerberus troops. Explosions dotted the atrium instantly, blasting most of the Cerberus troops, lighting others on fire, and anything that didn't get blasted, regardless of whether it had a shield or not, was tagged by a blast of electricity, then biotic powers immediately afterward. Shepard's group ran up to the path across the room quickly and David and Jack took their students along their path, which wrapped around three walls of the room, until they could see the door Shepard was leaving through.

"We're clear of the room," Shepard said. "Keep going."

"Got it," Jack said.

They all turned, hurrying through their door and started down the hallway.

"Everyone okay?" David asked.

"They barely had the chance to shoot at us," Prangley said.

"That tends to happen when you have a surprise volley of explosives from a dozen invisible tech experts," David said.

"Someone's feeling confident," Jack grinned.

"Of course," David smiled. "I had plenty of cover this time."

"Is he not usually confident?" Prangley asked.

"Oh, no, I'm a coward," David said. "Usually I turn invisible throughout the whole fight so that I can hide while I shoot and not get shot at back. Barring a few times when I didn't have a choice. But now, I've got plenty of cover."

"There they are!" a Cerberus troop shouted as he ran around the corner, opening fire, only for it to hit a barrier Jack formed.

Several more arrived and David fired an Incineration Blast through the barrier, the blast exploding in the middle of the group, killing all but one, who David shot as Jack lowered the barrier.

"You'd never know it from the way you're fighting now," Octavia said.

"I've got Jack to protect me," David shrugged, the students laughing.

After a few more minutes, the door opened and David yelped in surprise, winking out of sight as bullets began to rapidly slam into the wall in front of them. Jack and her class instantly formed a barrier around them all and they began to work their way forward as quickly as the class could manage, David and his class firing back with their omni-tools and David using his Locust. Finally, they were forced to stop on the far end of the room, halfway to the shuttles. Jack hurled a biotic throw into a soldier, sending him crashing into a turret and knocked it over before David blasted the troop and turret both with a ball of explosive gas. He shot three more before his class sent a volley of Incineration Blasts over half the room, catching a half-dozen Cerberus troops, only for even more to begin flooding in. Prangley hurled a Singularity into the doorway, catching a huge group before Rodriguez blasted one with a Warp, setting off a massive explosion.

"Nice!" Prangley grinned.

"Don't start celebrating yet!" David said, shooting a pair of troops as they stepped out of cover. "Plenty more to go."

Just then, an Atlas stomped into the room with Shepard seated inside of it. It began to blast the Cerberus troops and the students all cheered. David smiled looked around.

"All of you get to the shuttles!" Jack ordered. "Prangley, Rodriguez, stay put!"

"Octavia, deploy the your shield to protect everyone once you're there," David said.

Octavia nodded and David handed her his Hurricane again before they ran for the shuttles.

Shepard, watch your ass!" Jack shouted, hurling a Warp at a soldier on the far side of the room's upper level.

David turned, shooting a pair over there, then an engineer running for the Atlas Shepard was driving. Shepard opened fire on the troops pouring into the room on that side so David and Jack focused on the other side, Prangley and Rodriguez maintaining the barrier for them. Jack sent a Shockwave through the door they'd come through and scattered the troops. As they began to stand, David shot them rapidly.

"The shuttles are almost ready!" Kahlee said.

"Try to hurry!" David said as several troops rounded the corner toward their barrier, only for David and Jack to shoot them. "I'm moving to the corner."

"Be careful!" Jack said.

"I will," David said, deploying his helmet and activating his cloaking tech.

As he reached the pillar at the corner, he stepped around it and instantly formed an omni-blade, stabbing one troop in the face, then ejected the blade into another's face as he shot a third with his left hand. A shockwave scattered more troops as they ran along the path and David shot them all quickly.

"Atlas!" Jack warned, just as he shot the last one.

He spun, firing an omni-bow bolt into it, the bolt blasting it with electricity as soon as it hit, just before Jack's warp hit and reacted with the electricity to set off an explosion, rocking it back a step. Shepard's Atlas opened fire on that one and within moments, it was dead.

"Okay, we're clear!" Jack said. "Move your ass before more backup arrives!"

Prangley and Rodriguez let the barrier fade and they all headed through the door and across a waiting area to the shuttle platform. As they ran in, Kahlee was typing on a console beside one of the shuttles.

"Kahlee, how's it coming?" Shepard asked.

"Controls are unlocked," Kahlee said.

"Take the controls, and get the students aboard!" Shepard ordered.

"Wait!" Jack said. "Where the Hell's Rodriguez!?"

Just then, several gunshots echoed from the waiting room. Everyone spun, seeing Rodriguez sprinting toward them, three Cerberus troops chasing her.

"How the fuck!?" David snapped as Shepard slammed his buttstock into the bulletproof glass between them and the waiting room.

"She needs covering fire!" Shepard shouted as Rodriguez took cover behind the end of a row of chairs.

"She needs more than that!" Jack snarled, shoving Shepard out of the way before blasting the window with her biotics, shattering it and hurling the Cerberus troops.

Shepard leapt out of the window instantly and David quickly shot the three troops. A few moments later, David, Jack, Shepard, and Kahlee were on one of the shuttles with Octavia, Prangley, Isaac, Archer, and Rodriguez, everyone else was on the other shuttle.

"Joker, we flew out on two Cerberus Shuttles," Shepard warned. "Check your fire."

"Roger, I've got you on sensors," Joker said. "I'll be there to pick you up in a minute."

"Thank you Commander," Kahlee said. "We might never have gotten off that station if you hadn't come."

"F...Forget that," Jack said, again catching herself before she could say what she wanted. "We kicked some ass. Next place we dock, you're all getting inked. My treat."

"I'll pass," David said.

"Well, then it's a good thing you weren't included," Jack said.

"Ouch," David said.

"So, what do you guys want?" Jack asked, turning back to the students. "Ascension Project logo? Glowing fist? Omni-tool for the nerds? Maybe a unicorn for Rodriguez?"

"Screw you, ma'am!" Rodriguez smirked.

"I can't believe we got them out alive," Kahlee said. "I was going to suggest they stick to support roles. But perhaps they're ready after all."

Shepard glanced at Jack, who gave him a knowing, almost pleading look. David gave him a similar one. He and Jack had talked about it. They weren't ready for the front lines. He hoped Jack had brought it up to Shepard.

"They're definitely ready," Shepard said. "But the Alliance needs them in a support role."

Relief swept through David and he smiled, nodding.

"What!?" Prangley asked. "We trained for artillery strikes!"

"We don't need another artillery unit," Shepard said. "We need stronger barriers for our front-line squads."

"This is bullshit!" Rodriguez snapped.

"Hey, if that's where they need us, that's where we go," Jack said. "Besides, I'm sure we'll still get some shots in."

"The support role is also the more important job," David said. "You may not be the ones killing Reaper forces, but you _will _be making sure front-line soldiers can go home to their families, and you won't have to worry about not being able to go home to _you_ friends and family."

"Not everyone's a coward like you!" Rodriguez snapped.

"Rodriguez!" Octavia snapped.

"Oh, you're going-" Jack stopped when David set his hand on her shoulder, watching Rodriguez carefully.

"You're right," David said. "I _am_ a coward. I'm afraid of dying. I'm afraid of losing people too. Have you ever lost someone, Rodriguez? A mother? Father? Sibling? Even a close friend? Anyone like that died?"

"No," Rodriguez said.

"Then you don't know," David said. "You think because you made it through one battle without someone dying that means it won't happen, but that's not true. People die in combat. It doesn't matter if it's the combat associated with mercenary work, defending a facility, or fighting on a battlefield in a war, people _will_ die. And there is _nothing_ in this life more unbearable than the pain of losing someone you love and being powerless to stop it and having to live with that, and accept that no matter what you did, or how hard you tried, you couldn't save them. Or of always wondering if maybe you _could_ have saved them if you'd just tried a little harder. Losing people hurts. As a support role, you won't have to worry about that happening as often."

"Commander, we've got a visual on you now," Joker said suddenly. "Preparing to dock. Hey Jack, now that you're military, you gonna wear a uniform? Or are you just gonna get the officer's bars tattooed on?"

"Screw you f...flight lieutenant," Jack caught herself, sounding disgruntled at not being allowed to say what she wanted this time.

Joker laughed. "Uh...what the Hell was that?"

"Jack promised to watch her language in order to maintain the necessary professionalism we need from our teachers," Kahlee said.

"What does she have a swear jar or something?" Joker asked. "Cause I bet if we emptied that thing out, we could afford another cruiser."

David grinned, motioning for the students to cover their ears.

"Cover your ears, kids," Jack said, no one doing it. "Hey, Joker, fuck yourself."

"Hey, that's not appropriate language around children!" Joker said in a sassy tone. "I'm going to tell on you! Kahlee, Jack said a mean word!"

Kahlee shook her head, smiling, and a couple minutes later, they all left the shuttles. EDI agreed to give the students a tour while they head to the Citadel to drop them all off. While she did, David and Jack headed down to Engineering, asking EDI to keep the students away from the stairs for a while, then went down to their old hole under the floor to see if it was as uncomfortable as he remembered.

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